Miraculous Masquerade
by MeekoMyachi
Summary: Chat Noir discovers Ladybug's identity, and has a hard time controlling himself around her, even as the passive Adrien. When the school announces a special masquerade ball at the end of the week, Adrien feels that it's the time to make his move, as well as reveal himself to the girl he loves. Rated T for some language and possible suggestive behavior.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Chat Noir moved about across the city of Paris. It was his night to conduct a patrol, and he honestly felt a little lonely without Ladybug. He smiled to himself when he thought about her, and wondered briefly if she had missed him the night before when she patrolled by herself.

He found himself wandering close to the bakery where Marinette lived. He imagined the afternoon he spent there with her as Adrien, practicing video games for a competition. He eyed her balcony and imagined how easily he could let himself in. He checked his watch. It was nearly midnight-the only time he could get away from the house-and Marinette must have been sleeping.

He couldn't contain himself. Chat mustered up his courage and decided to take a small peek to see if she was awake or not. He moved himself to the balcony as quietly as possible and rested himself lightly on the railing.

Her bedroom light was on. It sounded like she was talking to someone, which he didn't want to interrupt. His feline curiosity bested him, and he moved to lean against the wall next to her window to listen in.

"...worried about Chat," he heard her say. "I have a bad feeling about tonight."

"I wouldn't worry so much about him, Marinette," came a small, female voice that Chat did not recognize. "I'm sure he'll get along just fine."

"I know, but..." Marinette sighed. "I should believe in him. It's not like I could just show up to help him. I don't want him to think I don't trust him."

 _'Why would Marinette help me?'_ Chat thought, peering into the window. _'Is it because I helped her before, and now she feels indebted? I should tell the Princess not to worry. I should go in and show her that I'm just fine.'_

Chat moved to the window to knock on it, but stopped short. He saw Marinette at her desk, with the small desk lamp on, but he also saw who she was talking to. She was a small, floating ladybug-colored creature, about the same size and shape as Plagg. Chat covered his mouth. Was that another Kwami? He panicked, wanting to ask Plagg, but he knew that he had to finish his patrol.

Chat quickly dropped out of sight as Marinette approached the window. He pressed himself to the wall underneath it, keeping his mouth covered, hoping she didn't see him as she opened the window and poked her head out into the cool night air.

"I figured he would have paid me a visit by now," she said quietly. "Tikki, do you think he's okay?"

The creature floated out of the window, took a brief glance down at Chat, and smiled at Marinette. "I'm sure he's just fine," she said. She offered a wink to Chat as Marinette walked away.

"Are you coming back in, Tikki? I'm leaving the window open tonight."

"Yes, in a moment," Tikki called back. She swooped down in front of Chat's face and touched it lightly with her tiny hands. "Are you disappointed?" she whispered.

Chat shook his head, but found himself blushing. "Marinette is-?"

Tikki nodded, but floated towards the window. "Come in and say hi, but don't tell her you know."

Chat stood and stepped away from the window, straightening himself and gathering his composure. He cleared his throat and knocked on the window frame lightly. Marinette shuddered while Tikki hid, and she turned to face him.

"Chat!" she exclaimed. "I- What are you doing here?"

"I noticed you had the window open. I just wanted to say hello to my princess," he said with a smile. "Were you, perhaps, expecting me?"

His heart melted at the sight of her. She looked at him with big blue eyes, her cheeks tinged with pink. He stepped into the room and took her hand, falling into a low bow and kissing her hand. He felt himself turn pink as well, and inwardly felt more appreciation for his mask than he ever had before.

"I was not," she said. "Shouldn't you be, I don't know, patrolling Paris?"

"As I said, I noticed you had the tower's window open, my dear, and I thought you would like to see your knight come through it." He offered her a cocky smirk while looking around her room.

There were an awful lot of pictures of him-or, of Adrien, to be specific. He felt his heart skip. Did Marinette like him?

 _'It would explain the stuttering,'_ he thought. _'I wonder how confident she is with Chat Noir?'_

Chat took her hand and pulled her into the center of the room. "I've always wanted to dance with my Princess," he whispered close to her ear. "Or even hold her close. Since it's late, let's just stick with holding you close."

"What happened to loving Ladybug?" she asked, pushing away from him a little. Her entire face was red, and her eyes were wide.

"Ladybug rejects me a lot, but I do love her," he admitted. "I love her more than anything. But until she and I are official, I want to explore my feelings for my Princess."

Chat leaned in towards her, closing his eyes halfway. He felt his heart start to beat out of his chest. This was making him more nervous than he had ever been before. He felt Marinette tense, but lean into him a little, accepting his offer. She was so warm. He felt like her hands were burning holes through the leather covering her chest.

A knock sounded on the trap door leading to the rest of the house. Marinette's father's muffled voice came through, and Chat ran over to the window and leapt out onto the balcony as her dad came into the room.

"Is everything okay, Mari? I thought I heard talking," he said.

"Yeah, I... I was just talking to myself," she said hurriedly. "I'm headed to bed now. I was working on homework."

"Alright. Goodnight then, sweetie."

Chat peeked back into the room as Marinette's dad left. He gave her a salute, but as his time as Chat was running out, he needed to hurry back to his own home.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **This isn't the first fanfiction I've written-I'm actually using fanfiction to better myself as a writer. I'm working on an actual novel series, so this is just practice.**

 **I would appreciate** ** _constructive_** **criticism, regarding style and mechanics, as well as the amount of description I use (which I know there wasn't much in this one, but there will be more in later chapters.)**

 **Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll let me entertain you with a little Love-Square sin. :)**

 **~Meeko**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Adrien sat at his desk, nervously replaying the events from the night before in his head, over and over again. He got so close to her. He wanted to do that again. It wasn't like the time they nearly kissed when they were acting. No, this was different. It was more like trying to kiss Ladybug.

Marinette was Ladybug.

Adrien felt his heart throb again. If he saw her, he felt like he would jump on her and finish what he started last night. He would give her a kiss filled with all of his pent up love.

All of that shattered when she walked in the room.

She looked at him with a small smile, waved, then took her seat behind him. He couldn't help but to look down at his hands and blush. Nino gave him an odd look but turned back to chat excitedly with Alya.

A few minutes later, the teacher came in and began her lecture on history.

Adrien packed his books into his bag, but continued watching the front of the room. The teacher had promised a special announcement at the end of class.

"Now, class, the special announcement is here! This Friday night, there is a special event at our school-a masquerade ball! Everyone that attends is expected to wear a mask. You can also bring a date if that's what you'd like to do."

Adrien fought the grin that tried to spread across his face.

 _'I can ask Marinette!'_ he thought immediately. He imagined her in a beautiful blue dress and smiled.

He didn't see any reason that she would say no. In fact, he didn't see any reason why she wouldn't accept his proposal immediately. If it wasn't immediate, she might even run off to find Alya and ask for some coaching. Her best friend was great at offering comfort and instigating the Ladybug-esque courage deep within her. He had seen her sticking up for her friends and thought it was rather endearing, but when it came to him, if Alya wasn't there, then Marinette could hardly string together a sentence that made sense.

Adrien thanked the heavens for Alya. He would have to express his appreciation for her if things worked out between him and Marinette. He could even convince Ladybug to do an interview. That would be the greatest gift he could give the LadyBlog writer.

The blond shouldered his bag as the class was dismissed for the final time that day, and turned to Alya and Marinette. Before he could open his mouth to speak, he felt a familiar annoyance clinging to his arm.

"Adrien, you'll obviously be attending the masquerade with me, won't you?" came the whiny voice of his childhood friend, Chloe. "You know I won't take no for an answer!"

Chloe may have known him for a greater part of his life, but he honestly found her to be a nuisance now that they were older. Her attitude had changed for the worse once she had decided that she was in love with him. He rolled his eyes, cast a wink in Marinette's direction while she stifled a giggle, and looked down at the blond girl hanging off of his arm.

"Chloe," he said slowly. "I'll attend the dance with whoever I want to. Hell, maybe I'll go alone."

He looked back up at Marinette and locked eyes with her, hoping to get some sort of message across. She only blushed when Alya whispered something and gave Adrien a smile.

"Oh, nonsense! I'll be waiting for you to pick me up that night! We'll match. Wear blue."

With that, Chloe snapped her fingers and walked away with Sabrina in tow, barking orders while her subordinate scribbled down notes.

"Well, Marinette, I guess blue is out," he sighed, offering her a kind smile. "Honestly, that's what I imagined you in at first. Do you want to go get lunch with me during our break tomorrow?"

He watched with an unbearable amount of love as Marinette's face turned from pink to dark red and her eyes flicked between him and Alya. Alya gave her a small push and whispered something into her ear. Marinette finally looked up and nodded her head vigerously.

"Great. I'll buy so don't worry about it, and just dress like your normal self. And that doesn't mean you two sneak along behind us," he said, shooting a playful warning glance at Nino and Alya.

"Oh, nonsense!" Alya said in a nasally voice, obviously as an imitation of Chloe. Nino and Marinette laughed, and Adrien just rolled his eyes at her.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow then," he said softly to Marinette, touching her shoulder lightly and smiling at her again. He lingered in front of her for a second, but tore himself away when he felt himself leaning in.

As he walked out of the classroom, he stopped by the door to listen to Marinette's reaction.

"He was so going to kiss you just then," Alya teased.

"Oh my god. He touched me. He asked me out. Is this a date? Does he think it's a date? This is so out of nowhere. I'm so excited and scared, and I feel so light," Marinette said, a little too quickly.

"That's love, my love," Alya soothed.

Adrien couldn't stop smiling. He had only leaned in because he wanted to pick up where he had left off the night before, but couldn't bring himself to do it in front of other people. He wanted to have an official relationship with Marinette, which he wanted to ask her for at the dance, but he wanted to build up to it a bit.

"It's a date," he whispered, walking towards the school's exit.

* * *

Chat Noir sat atop a roof near the Eiffel Tower, the spot that he and Ladybug had agreed to meet to offer reports of the night before's patrol. He looked at his communicator. She was a bit late, although it was her night to do the patrol.

Chat sighed. He would wait forever for her, so long as he wasn't in any danger and neither was she. He would wait on a deflated life raft in the middle of the ocean for her if she said she would come there. He shook his head, realizing his love for her really knew no bounds.

Now he didn't have to feel guilty for also having a crush on Marinette.

He waited another ten minutes before Ladybug showed up, looking flustered and out of breath.

"Something wrong, My Lady?" he asked, instinctually standing and kissing her hand in greeting.

"No, nothing," she said breathlessly. "I didn't realize how late I was. I was really busy. I'm so sorry."

"No worries, I am purrfectly okay with waiting, so long as it's for you, my love bug."

"I'm not your love bug," she said with a weak smile. "How was last night?"

"Totally uneventful," he admitted. "I even had extra time at the end to stop in and visit a friend."

"Oh, I wish you wouldn't do something like that. Your identity could have been compromised," she scolded with a stern expression.

"If I didn't do such reckless things, then I couldn't experience that adorable glare of yours," he said lovingly. "Besides, if I were to reveal myself, it would only be to you. I promise you wouldn't be disappointed."

"Oh? I wonder if you would be disappointed in who I really am," she said, a small hint of sadness following her sassy tone.

"I could never be disappointed," he whispered, taking her hands and taking another step towards her.

His heart began to beat out of his chest. He wanted to kiss her. She would dodge it if he tried, though, and he knew it. He backed off a little.

"I could never be disappointed," he reiterated, a little louder. "So when you're deciding if we can know each other without the masks, I want you to remember that. I'll never be disappointed. I'll love you, whoever you are."

He caressed her face, watching her cheeks tinge pink, and he turned away.

"Send out a signal right away if something is wrong," he added. "I'll be there to save you immediately, My Lady. Good luck."

He took a step to the edge of the building and leapt down, leaving Ladybug to perform the nightly patrol.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hello again! I hope chapter 2 was enjoyable. I hope to pick up the pace of the story a bit with some longer chapters from here on out, just so I can get them through the week. It's going to be a long week (especially for poor Adrien).**

 **I'm sorry that the update is late! I was planning on updating every Tuesday afternoon, but yesterday was so hectic because of classes starting back up that I never got any alone time with my laptop between school and work. University is hard, but rewarding.**

 **Once again, all _constructive_ criticism is welcomed! I'll be updating on a weekly basis, probably Monday or Tuesday afternoons while I'm not in University classes, unless I get chapters done sooner than that. **

**If there is going to be a scheduled hiatus, I'll be sure to inform you all of that via my author's notes.**

 **Thanks again!**

 **~Meeko**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Adrien impatiently waited for the lunch period to come. He had made reservations at a small café near the school, definitely not somewhere that was too fancy. He wanted to put Marinette's comfort first, although every fiber of his being told him to spoil her.

 _'I don't want to scare her,'_ he reminded himself.

The teacher suddenly picked up the pace with her lecture, marking the last few minutes of class. Adrien grew tense as he scribbled down notes, as the teacher was only giving simple key points that he would need for the test. Once the bell rang, he relaxed against the back of his seat and dropped his pen. Nino promptly abandoned him, and Alya followed him after offering last minute words of advice to Marinette.

Adrien put his belongings in his bag and looked back at Marinette, who was doing the same. When she looked up, he smiled at her.

"You ready to go?" he asked quietly, ignoring Chloe's attempts to get his attention.

"Yeah." Her reply came out along with a long sigh, as if she had been holding her breath.

He studied her face with slight concern, but remembered how awkward she always was around him. The thought of her being flustered made him smile a little bit, but he shook the thought from his head. His thoughts had strayed to the untame ones he had as Chat Noir. He was finding it harder and harder to ignore them.

He stood, put his bag over his shoulder, and moved to offer her his arm, just as he would if he were Chat Noir. However, she stared at him, her anxiety swimming in her widened blue eyes. He lowered his arm to his side, a little embarrassed, and motioned for her to follow him.

"Adrien!" Chloe called after him, annoyed, as he led Marinette to the door.

Without looking back, he gently took Marinette's hand, and asked her loudly, "Are you looking forward to our date, Mari?"

The classroom fell into complete silence, and Adrien quickly led Marinette from the room. He looked at her, their faces the same shade of bright red.

"I can't believe I did that," he admitted, his voice shaking with embarrassment.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, her voice equally quiet and unsteady.

"I don't know," he lied.

 _'I don't want Chloe's attention. I want yours. And I want everyone to know how I feel about you,'_ his selfish thoughts screamed truthfully.

"Let's just go," he went on.

While they walked, he never let go of her hand.

* * *

They walked to the café in silence. Once inside, Adrien was grateful for how busy it actually was. He felt more confident talking to her if he didn't have to worry about others hearing them. He spoke briefly to the host, and waited patiently at Marinette's side while their table was prepared.

"It suddenly became very popular," he explained, leaning towards her so she could hear him, "so they had to start a reservation system recently. It used to be much quieter in here."

"Maybe it's because you've been here before," she replied. "You are sort of a celebrity, Adrien."

Adrien smiled at how calm her voice was, knowing that she was most likely putting forth all of her effort to sound that way. Her ears and cheeks were still pink with blush, so he knew she hadn't totally calmed down yet.

The host returned within a few moments, leading them to their table. He told them that they would be given a few minutes before someone would be out to take their order.

Adrien watched Marinette as she took in the surroundings. The walls were made of a dark oak, and the floors matched. Light fixtures modeled after candelabras lined the walls, surrounded by photographs, drawings, and paintings done by local artists. The tables and chairs inside the building were a slightly lighter colored wood, while the seating outside (which had been completely full when they got there) was glass-top tables with black iron chairs. The inside bustled, also almost full, with all different kinds of people. Adrien looked around, seeing a few people they knew, but his eyes stopped at the table right behind Marinette.

Nino and Alya were being seated right behind them, where Marinette couldn't see. They waved, a smug yet teasing look on each of their faces. Adrien tensed up, but managed to shoot a glare in their direction before Marinette looked back at him.

"It's a very cute café. The lights remind me of the bakery," she said, pointing at the ceiling lights that Adrien had ignored before. They were simple and round, much like the ones she had at home.

"I'm glad you like it," he said, relaxing a little. Marinette seemed to have finally calmed down, and he didn't want to make her worry by sounding stressed.

A waiter came close to the table, offered a smile, and asked them about drinks. Marinette asked him for black tea with the sugar left on the side so she could add it herself. Adrien went with the cafe au lait that he had tried the last time he went there. He also asked for croissants. The waiter left to take orders from Alya and Nino, and then disappeared in the back.

"Were you planning on going to that dance at the end of the week?" Adrien asked before he could apply reason to his train of thought. He stared at her, startled by his own question.

"Of course, with Alya, but it seems as though she may be going with Nino," Marinette replied. Alya blushed, and Nino turned in his seat to stare at Adrien.

He obviously hadn't asked Alya yet.

"I can see that," Adrien said, stifling a laugh, meeting Marinette's eyes. "You could still go without her, if you wanted."

"That's true, she'd probably still want to talk to me, even if she has a date." Marinette accepted the tea that the waiter brought and put a couple of spoonfuls of sugar in.

"That isn't what I meant," Adrien mumbled, taking a sip of the coffee.

They sat in silence, during which Adrien took one of the croissants and took a bite. It was warm, flaky, and buttery. They used to be his favorite, but now something seemed off about them. It almost left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"They aren't as good as your dad's," he told Marinette.

She offered him a large smile and agreed, but still ate happily.

"Marinette," he said slowly, after a few more silent moments, "when I said you could go without Alya, I meant... I-I'm going, too. We could, you know, go together?"

The last part came out as a question instead of a statement. His inner Chat Noir scolded him for lack of confidence. He just wasn't sure what to do, and now that the words were out, he wasn't sure how to read her expression.

Her face had grown red again, and she stared down at her half-eaten croissant on the plate in front of her. Her hands rested on her tea cup. Her eyes were filled with an emotion that Adrien couldn't read, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to. He prepared himself for rejection. He prepared to be forced to attend with Chloe.

Who was he kidding? There was no preparing for that.

Instead, he watched with relief as Marinette nodded her head vigorously.

He had never loved Tuesdays more than he did now.

* * *

When they arrived back at the school, Adrien thanked the universe for the fact that Chloe was ignoring him-or trying to. He was pleased with his bravery in asking Marinette, and he was pleased with her response.

He listened idly as Marinette gushed about her experience at the café. Alya provided her wisdom and encouragement, effectively calming the blue-eyed girl's nerves. Adrien found himself smiling. Friendship was an amazing thing. He was glad he had been able to start public school.

He glanced over at Nino, who had his headphones on. Nino hadn't said a word to him since they got back. Adrien couldn't help but notice the sinking feeling in his chest.

He tapped the table in front of Nino, gaining his friend's attention. Nino lowered his headphones around his neck and looked over.

"Yeah?"

"Did I upset you?"

"No, I..." Nino cast his eyes down to the table. "I just hadn't asked her yet."

"I'm sorry," Adrien said, recalling Marinette's comment about the two of them. "But hey, now you don't have an excuse to not ask her."

Nino's expression changed. A wide grin spread across his face. The sinking feeling in Adrien's chest evaporated. He felt better knowing that Nino was feeling better.

A few minutes later, the teacher came back into the room, followed by a dark haired man with an even darker suit.

"Class, I want to introduce a new art teacher. He is a student at the university, and he's here to spend some time practicing teaching for one of his classes," she explained. "Please be kind to him."

The man greeted the class with a broad smile and a brief introduction that Adrien didn't listen to.

"Now, those of you who have art class today, please lead him to the studio room," she went on.

Adrien watched as most of the students stood and left the room. Marinette waved at him as she left, and he found himself waving back halfheartedly. He also felt Chloe's eyes burning holes into his back.

He had a bad feeling, and it had nothing to do with Chloe.

* * *

Adrien waited at the steps inside of the building for Nino, Alya, and Marinette. Nino raced by, shouting something about being late. Adrien heaved a sigh and continued to wait.

He watched as Alya emerged from the studio room. She briefly asked Adrien about Nino, but when he showed little interest in the affairs of his best friend, she raised an eyebrow.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm worried about Marinette for some reason," he admitted. "I don't know why."

"She's fine," she assured him. "She's having the new teacher go through her sketchbook. She said that she has the feeling that he can help her improve."

"She's always seeking improvement," he said fondly.

"She told me to go ahead and head home without her, but you can stay and wait." Alya winked at him. "Hey, you can tell her you've been worried."

Adrien felt himself blush. He had already been extremely forward with her today, and he didn't know if he had it in him to face more embarrassment.

"Alya," he groaned as she walked away from him.

He paced around, then glanced at the studio's door. He felt worse by the second. He had noticed in the classroom that the new teacher wasn't too harsh on the eyes. Adrien crossed his arms.

He felt insecure. He hated that.

 _'I need to stop thinking like Chat,'_ he thought, a little annoyed with himself.

He ignored the impatient rustling in his shirt. Plagg had something to say, but with all of the students still hanging around, there was no way for them to talk. Adrien closed his eyes and took a second to pull himself together.

 _'My actions reflect on my father. For his sake, I can't act out,'_ he reminded himself for the millionth time.

"Thank you! I appreciate the input."

Marinette's sweet voice broke down the walls of anxiety that had been building up inside of him. Adrien looked up to see her leaving the studio, clutching her sketchbook to her chest and smiling back at the teacher behind her.

Adrien's heart wrenched when she looked forward and met his eyes with hers. He felt a goofy grin spread across his face as she walked towards him.

"Hi, Adrien," she said, holding the sketchbook tighter. She also had a small smile, but her eyes never strayed from his.

"Hey," he breathed.

He stood awkwardly, searching her eyes. She seemed to be doing the same. Her smile fell, but quickly as she pushed on his lips with her fingertips. He had been leaning in again.

"Not here," she whispered. "I don't think this is a good time."

"I-um, sorry. Do you want to walk with me? Uh, outside?"

"To go home? Yes," she said with a small giggle. She turned on her heel and looked back at him over her shoulder. "Are you coming?"

 _'Cheeky,'_ he thought, his smile twisting into a smirk.

He followed her from the building, where she sat on the steps. He sat next to her, keeping his eyes forward. He snuck a peek at her and noticed that her face was red, and she was looking at her sketchbook.

"How was the new teacher?" Adrien asked in an attempt to make her more comfortable. "You seemed to like him."

He immediately regretted his question. Marinette's face lit up, and she beamed at him with excitement.

"He's so helpful! He went through my sketches with me and showed me a few tricks I could try using to improve," she rambled. "It was extraordinary! He pointed out things that I've never even thought of."

"That's great, I'm glad," he replied, casting his eyes down. "You know, if you want to show someone your art, I'm always there."

"What? I-you? I-I'm not that good. I'm sure you... Ah, you wouldn't want to see my art."

Marinette was back to being flustered. Adrien placed a hand on hers.

"I would never be disappointed," he said in a low voice. "I'll always support you, My Lady."

She stared at him with wide eyes. He stared back, realizing his slip-up. The honk of a car horn interrupted whatever Marinette was getting ready to say. Adrien stood quickly.

"I have to go. I- tomorrow. I'll see you then," he said quickly, waving and offering a smile.

"Yeah," she murmured, watching him as he walked away.

* * *

Chat Noir quietly watched Marinette's window, kicking himself for doing something so bold. It was taking all of his restraint not to cross the street and barge into her room again.

He lost it when she came out onto the balcony and waved at him.

He made his way over as quickly as he could without seeming too eager. Soon, he was standing in front of her.

"You called, princess?"

"I did," she said.

He was just close enough to smell the mint on her breath, and to see that her hair was still damp from a shower. She smelled like flowers and lotion. She wore a pink pajama set with a button-up top, and her hair was down instead of being in pigtails. She looked beautiful and fragile and helpless.

"Is there something I can assist you with?" he asked carefully. He was scared of hurting her somehow-she was like a flower petal, small and cute and breakable.

She looked up at him through her eyelashes.

"I wanted to see you," she breathed, wringing her hands. "I wanted to give you something. As appreciation for everything you do."

She met his eyes. It was as if she could see through the mask, straight into his heart and who he was.

Chat's heart stopped. Marinette leaned in and touched her lips to his cheek briefly. She took a step back, her face as red as it had been on the steps earlier that day.

Chat closed the distance between them, gently placing his hands on her waist. Her arms snaked up around his neck, proving her knowledge and acceptance of what was coming next. Their bodies were centimeters from touching, so he wrapped his arms around her waist at the same time as he leaned in. Marinette met him half way.

Her lips felt soft against his, softer than he had imagined. She was warm and felt perfect in his arms. It was as if she was meant to be there-like she was made to be with him.

He felt himself fall in love with her all over again in the brief, firework-filled moment that was their first kiss.

Instead of returning to her room, Marinette buried her face in his chest and sighed. Chat stroked her hair with one hand and looked to the sky.

A full moon glowed overhead, giant in the Parisian sky.

"I've fallen for you, Chat," she whispered, looking back up at him.

He gave her a wide, genuine smile. "That's what I've been waiting to hear."

He held her tight, not only to savor the moment, but because he knew he wouldn't have this chance again until the next time Chat Noir met up with Marinette.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hello again! I'm a day early, but I know the difference that 24 hours can make when you're waiting for something to release.**

 **I want to thank GuardianAngel1234567 for the idea about the new teacher. He won't be big enough to warrant receiving his own name, but he's definitely important!**

 **On another note, I asked a friend of mine to look over the first two chapters with me so she could help me out with what to do next. When I showed her the title of it, she stared at me, wide eyed, and said, "That's you?! I follow that story!"**

 **It was wonderful. Hi, Emily!**

 **Hopefully the next chapter will also be early since this one was. Look forward to it!**

 **~Meeko**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Adrien paced his room frantically, half dressed and a total mess. Plagg was on the desk, eating his pungent breakfast.

"What do I do?" he whined. "How to I act? What do I say? How am I supposed to pretend that last night never happened?"

He thought back to the kiss he shared with Marinette, and promptly threw himself face-down onto his bed. He adjusted himself so that the side of his face was on the pillow.

"What do I do?" he repeated, quietly.

Marinette would feel nothing when she saw him, at least nothing that was out of the ordinary. Adrien wasn't sure if he would even be able to control himself.

"Relax," Plagg said. "Just act like regular Adrien Agreste."

"How do I do that when I just-" Adrien buried his face into his pillow-"kissed the love of my life, and she doesn't even know it was me?"

"She's been swooning over Adrien for a long time," Plagg pointed out through a mouthful of cheese. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"You're right," the blond sighed, standing and pulling a shirt over his head. "It'll be fine."

* * *

He couldn't even look at her.

She walked into the classroom, smiled at him and waved, although her hand was shaking. As soon as he saw her, he felt his eyes avert themselves. He was feeling so much at once. He felt as if his looking at her would stir something in him, something that he wasn't sure he could control.

He heard her start talking to Alya, and his heart swelled. Even her voice was a little too much for him, but there was nothing he could do about that. He just had to pull himself together and deal with it.

He was relieved when their homeroom teacher came in and began talking about the week's events. Still, Adrien couldn't bring himself to listen to her. Marinette clouded his mind. That night, the kiss... He couldn't get it out of his head. It was as if he could still feel her lips on his. She had taken over every fiber of his being, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Not that he would have it any other way. This was everything he had been dreaming of.

* * *

Alya tapped on Adrien's shoulder as he stood to leave the room for their lunch period. Marinette stopped at the door and turned around.

"Alya?" she said.

"Ah, go on without me. I have something to take care of," Alya responded, smiling and waving her friend off. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Marinette murmured. She locked eyes with Adrien, but looked away, almost as if she were upset.

Or disappointed. Adrien hadn't ruled out the possibility that Marinette had figured out that he was Chat Noir based on his slip up the night before.

"Adrien," Alya said, cutting through the anxiety-ridden internal meltdown that had begun inside of him. "What's going on with Marinette?"

"What? I don't know," he said. He didn't think he could sound any more desperate.

Her expression darkened. "I'm the one who's worried now," she said. "She's acting strange, that Marinette. She told me that something happened last night and now she can't look you in the eye, but she won't tell me what happened. I thought maybe, since it has to do with you, you would know. I thought maybe you upset her."

"I would never upset her!" he exclaimed, then took a breath to calm himself. "Alya, Marinette means more to me than I could probably admit to anyone," he went on in a much lower voice, so no one would hear. "I'm just as confused as you are."

"So you like her?" she said in a teasing tone, though keeping it quiet.

He shifted his feet, then nodded at her. A grin spread across her lips knowingly. She patted his shoulder, shouldered her bag, and pulled out her cellphone. She dialed Marinette's number and held the phone to her ear.

"Hi, Marinette? Let me come over. I got done with what I needed to do early," she said. She winked at Adrien.

His insides turned into knots.

"Great, see you in five."

Alya hung up and slid her phone into her pocket. Her grin widened when she saw the distress on the blond's face.

"I won't say anything," she said reassuringly. "Not yet, anyway."

Adrien glared at her, but she only laughed. She waved at him and walked away.

* * *

Once back at home, Adrien ate his lunch as fast as he could and spent the rest of the time in his room, laying on his back on his bed. Plagg hovered over him, a concerned look written on his usually indifferent face.

"You know, Adrien, I don't think she knows," the Kwami said in an attempt to comfort him.

"She might," he replied sullenly. "What do I do if she does know? I already know about her, so it would only be fair, but she doesn't know that I know..."

He groaned, throwing his arm over his eyes.

"Maybe you should find out. Ask her about Chat, see what she says."

"That's... not a half bad idea," Adrien said. "If she seems off, then I'll know."

"You know, she could not say anything if she's embarassed."

"You're not one to give me advice," he pointed out.

"Consider it a one time service. I expect more cheese."

The blond rolled his eyes and smiled. This was more help than he had ever expected. He decided that giving his Kwami extra cheese for a while would not be a problem.

* * *

Adrien scribbled on a piece of paper, thinking hard about his words. It took him more than half of the class period to come up with a decent note. He made sure to answer a few of the teacher's questions here and there, just to ensure that he wasn't called out like he was on Valentine's.

He looked it over, barely satisfied with what he wrote, but unwilling to rethink it. It had to do. There were only twenty minutes left in class, and he had some business to attend to, now that they were doing work. He feigned a stretch, dropping the folded piece of paper in front of Marinette.

"Um, Adrien?" she whispered.

He looked back at her and held a finger to his lips. Then, he stood and excused himself, saying he needed to go to the restroom.

 _'Just wait a couple minutes before you follow me, like I asked,'_ he thought, willing Marinette to hear his thoughts.

He waited down the walkway, away from the windows that looked in on the classroom. He didn't want the teacher to see their rendezvous. He waited a few minutes, then a few minutes more. Just has he was starting to grow impatient and debate heading back in, Marinette came out and looked around. When she saw him, she walked over and leaned her back against the wall, mimicking his pose, so that she was the farthest from the windows.

"Alya is worried," he started. "She said that you said you can't look me in the eye anymore. That worries me, too. Did I do something wrong?"

"Ah, no," she said with a shaky voice. She was nervous. More so than usual. "You didn't do anything. It's okay."

"If you're sure," he murmured. "Hey, what about Chat Noir? Did something happen with him? I remember you mentioning that you were a little friendly with him once."

"Did I?" She had tensed up. Her face was stained red, and she looked at the floor, wringing her hands. "I don't recall."

"It has to do with him, doesn't it?" he prodded, getting ahead of himself. "What did he do that makes it so you can't look at me? What happened?"

"Adrien..." She turned her head away from him. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Marinette, let me fix it," he urged. "What can I do?"

"Nothing. Give me time, and I'll tell you about it. I... I need to think."

He sighed, but abandoned the conversation. "Let me head in first."

He patted her shoulder, a gesture which she flinched away from, and walked back into the classroom. Alya raised an eyebrow at him, showing that she knew that he had called Marinette out, and Adrien shrugged back.

"She wouldn't tell me anything," he said. "I wanted to try to help."

"Thank you for being concerned about her," she replied, smiling.

Adrien thought once again about how amazing friendship really is.

* * *

He kicked himself for pushing her. He kicked himself hard. He sat on the stairs outside of the school, his feet on the step below the one he sat on, his arms crossed over his knees, and his head resting on top. His best friend sat next to him, leaning back and much more relaxed.

"Don't worry so much about it, man," Nino said in an attempt to reassure him. "I know you're worried about her, but it's not something you should lose your cool over. So what if Chat Noir is giving her problems? That's not something you can take into your own hands. That guy rarely ever shows his face, and I don't think anyone but Ladybug can control him."

Oh, if only Nino knew.

"You're right," Adrien sighed. "There's nothing I can do. I just want to make sure that she's okay."

 _'She knows,'_ his inner Chat purred. _'She knows who I am. I don't have to hide it anymore.'_

It would be nice not to have to hide it anymore. He was getting sick of fighting himself to keep his feelings in check. He would give anything to let go. Still, he forced himself to think rationally. He didn't want to compromise his identity, not even to the girl who wore the mask of Ladybug, especially if it would scare her off. If Marinette knew that Adrien knew that she was Ladybug, then he wouldn't have thought twice about revealing himself. It would only be fair to her, and maybe they could get past the barriers between them.

However, that wasn't an option now. Marinette _didn't_ know, and he had to keep it that way.

He watched her walk by. She was peeking at him through her bangs, but when she saw him looking her way, she looked away as fast as she could. His heart sank.

He had an internal argument, pitting his rationality against his emotions. It was an argument that he had been having a lot of over the course of the day. He would do anything and everything for Marinette, if she just knew. He wanted her to know that he knew about her, too. It would take care of the last wall between them, and in a perfect world, they would be happy together after that.

He shook his head. He was thinking of their relationship differently than it actually was. It wasn't like they were dating.

 _'Not yet.'_

"Adrien? You're staring at Marinette again," Nino whispered.

Marinette had stopped to talk to the new teacher, and she noticed him staring at her. She seemed frigid. Adrien felt himself prickle.

"Something about that teacher feels off," he mumbled so only Nino could hear.

"Maybe because Marinette's talking to him and not you?" Nino teased.

The blond sighed, frustrated. That was probably it, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very wrong. Still, he tore his eyes away from her, to try to make her more comfortable if nothing else.

* * *

Chat Noir left early, even though it was Wednesday night, and it wasn't even his night to patrol. He wanted to catch Marinette before she transformed and left. He looked at the clock on his communicator. It was nearing ten o'clock, a full hour before they agreed to start patrols. She wouldn't have transformed yet.

He moved as quickly as he could over rooftops, between buildings, and across streets. He soon reached the roof that connected to her balcony. He could see her, standing on the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking out over the city. He sighed, pressing his back to the chimney that separated them. Was this the best course of action? He was rapidly losing his confidence. Before he changed his mind, he climbed over the small wall that was his only real obstacle.

He stood and watched her for a moment. The wind was gentle, and the strands of hair left out of her pigtails waved near her ears. She looked serene and peaceful, but almost sad. The fact that she was alone stabbed him in the chest, but he had to remind himself that it was late at night, and Alya normally wouldn't be there anyways.

He heard her voice, and realized that she had been on the phone.

"I'm not sure how I can even talk to him, Alya," she was saying. "I feel terrible, like I've betrayed him somehow."

"It's not like you two are together," came the soft reply from the phone.

Chat cleared his throat. Marinette turned quickly and gasped when she saw him.

"A-Alya, I'll call you later," she stammered, hanging up the phone and slipping it into her back pocket.

Chat took a few steps forward, keeping his eyes on her.

"Chat? What are you doing here?" she asked, forcing a smile onto her face. "Is it normal for you to patrol two nights in a row? You're awfully early. You don't normally come by until later..."

He just stared at her, feeling all of his emotions swelling in his chest. He felt as if he could burst. His eyes stung.

"Chat..?"

Her voice was softer now, quieter, gentler. She took a step towards him. He tensed up when she reached out, and shied away from her touch.

"Marinette. Just listen," he said, his voice shaking. He cursed himself for not keeping it together. "I have a favor to ask. And please, don't say no."

He took another step towards her, taking her hands and looking into her eyes. He whispered his command to Plagg, wherever he was. Marinette's eyes were giant orbs of fear and confusion.

"Please, don't look away," he urged.

The detransformation commenced. Light encompassed him as his disguise slowly melted away, starting at his head, revealing his face to her first. He watched her expression change. All she needed to see was his face. She didn't need anything else to recognize him.

"Adrien," she whispered.

Tears fell from her eyes. She stared at him for a few more moments. Adrien closed the space a bit more, moving his hands from hers and caressing her face. His heart was racing. He had never been so anxious in his life. He had never felt so much excitement and worry at the same time, either. He was surprised that she couldn't hear the stampede that was his pulse.

"Are you... disappointed?" he asked quietly.

"Adrien," she repeated, wiping her eyes. She gave in and began to sob, burying her face in his chest. "I'm so glad that it's you. I was so scared."

He held her tightly, prepared to listen to whatever she had to say.

"I was scared. I-I fell for Chat, and I felt that I was betraying you... I thought something was wrong with me, feeling like I belonged with two different people."

"Everything is okay now," he whispered into her hair. "Nothing's wrong with you, and I won't go anywhere."

She looked up at him, her tears subsiding, and she offered him a smile. He almost felt bad for thinking that she looked beautiful with tears clinging to her eyelashes. He returned her smile, and leaned in a little. She didn't push him away this time, and he didn't pull himself away, either. She leaned in a little, placing one hand on his cheek. She happily accepted his kiss.

Reluctantly, Adrien pulled himself away from her. He smiled.

"Do you mind if I stay a bit? My Kwami, the thing that makes me transform... He needs a little rest before I can become Chat again," he said quietly.

"Of course. I'll tell my parents that I brought you up a little while ago, while they weren't here."

"Let's not tell your parents anything," he said, winking.

She blushed, but slipped back into her room. Adrien scooped Plagg off of the ground, where he had landed once he was freed, and followed her in.

It had been a long time since he had been in there as Adrien. He smiled, looking around at all of the pictures she had of him. Once she noticed, she started taking them down.

"Are you okay?" she inquired quickly.

"Maybe," he replied, yawning.

Keeping himself in check had proved to be exhausting, and with most of his stress now gone, the weight of his fatigue was hitting him.

"Do you want to rest, too?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," he said.

He moved to her chaise and settled down on it. Plagg curled up in a warm spot next to Adrien's leg. Since he was still sitting up, Adrien patted the spot next to him. Marinette sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. He leaned his head on hers in turn, and was asleep before he knew it.

When he woke up at three in the morning, he panicked a little bit internally, but still woke Marinette up to move her to her bed. He climbed up the ladder with her, intent on going to the balcony and taking his leave, but she grabbed his jacket when he tried.

"Stay."

He knew she was half asleep. She didn't know what she was saying. Her head hit the pillow again and she was out. Still, he took off his shoes, dropped them as lightly as he could to the floor, and laid on his back beside her. She rolled over and clung to him. There was no way he was escaping tonight. A smile rested on his lips and relief ran through his body. He felt as if everything was right and well in the world.

It all felt perfect.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hello and welcome to another early installment of Miraculous Masquerade! I apologize for typos-I didn't spend as much time editing this one as I have with the other three chapters.**

 **I also may or may not have starting writing another Miraculous fanfiction in my free time, but that one is downright sinful. Like, serious sin.**

 **It may or may not be posted eventually. Probably not until after I finish this one, though.**

 **This one turned super angsty, super fast. I may change one of the labels. Expect mild sin in the future, and more humor now that Mari knows that Adrien is Chat.**

 **Also, thank you all so so so so so so much for the love and support! I appreciate all of you. You're all wonderful people.**

 **~Meeko**


	5. Chapter 5: Thursday Part 1

Chapter Five

Adrien woke to Marinette's sleeping face next to him. He propped himself up on his elbow, watching over her with a soft smile until she woke as well. She looked up at him and returned his smile.

"I'm dreaming," she mumbled groggily. "There's no way this is real."

"I assure you that this is more than real," he replied, intertwining his fingers with hers.

Marinette took a moment to appreciate the sight of newly-awake Adrien, with his mussed up hair and drooping eyes. Adrien kissed her forehead, then looked over at her alarm clock. There were still two hours before they had to be at school.

"Mari, I should get going," he said. "I need to be home before Nathalie or my father realize I've been gone all night, and I don't think your parents will appreciate coming upstairs to see a boy in their daughter's bed."

"I understand," she said, coering her yawn with her hand. "I should get ready, too, Adrien."

He swooned a little. The sound of his name on her tongue was the sweetest thing he had ever heard. He laid his head back down on the pillow next to her so that their noses were almost touching.

"Let's say that I asked you to be mine," he whispered.

A wide grin spread across her face, big blue eyes lighting up like fireworks. "Let's say that I said yes," she replied, making an obvious effort to stay quiet.

He kissed her forehead again, then sat up and scooted his way to the end of the bed. He climbed down the ladder carefully, thankful for his cat-like stealth. He slipped on his shoes and eyed the charm he had placed on Marinette's desk before he had moved her to the bed-a tiny Eiffel Tower charm that she could clip onto her purse.

"Plagg," he called softly. "Time to go."

The small black cat emerged from a corner of the desk, followed by the ladybug Kwami that had chosen Marinette. She waved a little, and Adrien raised his hand in greeting, lowering it quickly as Marinette sat up.

"Plagg, transform me," he commanded, and he was Chat Noir within seconds.

Marinette watched him climb the ladder. He pushed open the trap door to the balcony and winked at her.

"I'll be going via sky, Princess," he purred, saluting her. "See you in a couple of hours."

Marinette sat in a silent daze. She watched as he climbed out and disappeared.

"Sorry that you had to stay hidden all night, Tikki," she said once she was confident that he was gone.

"It's alright, Marinette," the Kwami replied, flying over to hug her chosen's cheek. "It was nice to see Plagg again."

"Does Plagg mean a lot to you?" Marinette asked.

"He means everything to me," Tikki admitted. "We've been together for centuries, so we know how to handle a few years apart. We've been apart much longer than this before."

"Maybe I should tell Adrien," she murmured. "He trusted me to reveal his identity, so maybe... Maybe I trust him, too."

Tikki smiled warmly. "That's your decision, Marinette."

* * *

Adrien released his transformation as he leapt into his bedroom window. He made quick work of getting ready; he decided to forego taking a real shower, opting to rinse the sweat off of him and leave it at that. He pulled on fresh boxers and pants, then moved to select a shirt from his closet as he heard a knock on his door.

"What is it?" he called.

Nathalie opened the door slightly, ignoring the sight of the half-naked teen.

"I see that you're home," she said, her voice deprived of any emotion. "Care to explain where you were last night?"

Adrien paused, then looked at her and smiled. "You don't miss anything, do you?"

"Adrien..."

"Nathalie, I assure you that everything was just fine. I had to stay over at a friend's to work on a group project. He picked me up late last night. Did you not get the memo I left you?"

Adrien felt bad pulling the superiority card on her, seeing as how her face fell immediately. He walked to his night table, scribbled on a piece of paper while his back was turned, and then turned back to her.

"Ah, jeez, I forgot to even give it to you!" He feigned a look of disappointment. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. I should have made sure. I did kind of rush out of the house."

"W-well, just be sure, next time, to make sure I get the note," she stammered, obviously surprised at him.

Adrien was sure she had seen through the lie, but she wasn't one to confront or challenge him. She turned on her heel, bidding him to finish his preparations for school, and walked away, closing the door behind her. Adrien slipped a shirt on over his head, donned a jacket, pocketed his phone, and shouldered his bag. He checked himself in the mirror one last time before leaving, brushing the blond strands out of his face. Satisfied with his appearance, he walked downstairs.

He ate his breakfast without complaint, going over his schedule with Nathalie. She seemed more rigid now, more in her element. The blond was glad that she had resumed her usual demeanor.

"Oh, Nathalie, tomorrow night is that masquerade ball at school. You cancelled my obligations for that block of time, right?" he asked between mouthfuls of fruit.

"I did," she confirmed. "I must say, your father isn't happy."

"Hell to him," he mumbled, patting his mouth with a napkin and standing. "Is it time to leave for school yet?"

"It's still a bit early, but you're free to leave if you wish," she replied.

"Thanks." He stood quickly, grabbed his school bag and rushed towards the door. "I-I need fresh air, so I'll be walking today! Bye!"

Before the assistant could say anything, Adrien was out of the door, reveling in the crisp morning air. Granted, he had just been outside not that long ago, but it still felt great to be outside as Adrien every once in a while. He couldn't stand the stuffy car, especially with his need to be free.

Ever since he found out that Marinette was Ladybug, he had been slowly losing his patience with just about everything. His desire to reveal himself to her had spurred a very similar desire to gain freedom in his personal life-a freedom that he knew he would never get so long as he lived under his father's roof. There was still quite a bit of time before he could taste true freedom, like he could as Chat Noir. Still, evading his gorilla of a bodyguard and heading to school on his own like everyone else in his class gave him some sense of power over his life, and a feeling like that was invaluable to someone like Adrien Agreste.

He smiled up at the sky, stretching his arms over his head and pretending to touch the sun. Today felt perfect. He had woken up next to the girl of his dreams, left her a surprise, and managed to convince Nathalie not to mention his disappearance to his father. It had been a while since he felt so light and carefree, as Adrien, at least. He often felt that he was on top of the world, even the king of it, when he was Chat Noir. Today, though, it was all about Adrien, and he didn't want it to end.

He walked up to the school and saw Alya and Nino waiting at the base of the stairs. Alya grinned at him and waved, and Nino pointed finger guns at him.

"Hey," the blond greeted them.

"Somebody's in a good mood," Alya noted in a sing-song voice.

"And it seems you aren't the only one," Nino said, looking past him with a smile.

He felt someone touch his arm. Half expecting it to be Chloe, he turned with mild distaste, but eased up as soon as he saw the beautiful, blue, Dupain-Cheng eyes staring up at him.

"Hey," he breathed.

"Hi," she murmured.

"Woah. Wait. What is this?" Alya paced in a slow circle around the duo. "Marinette, not stuttering at the sight of Mr. Agreste? And the aforementioned blond blushing when he sees her? What happened and why did neither of you tell me yet?"

"It, um... It just happened this morning," Marinette admitted. "Really, it's nothing. I'll tell you later."

"You'll tell me now," the redhead said, raising her eyebrows and smirking. "What happened this morning? Adrien came from the direction opposite of your house..."

Her eyes widened as Marinette blushed scarlet. She looked to Nino, then back to Marinette and Adrien.

"Oh my god. You guys!" She turned a glare to Adrien. "I swear, if you didn't use protection-"

"Alya! No! That's not what-" Marinette cut in. Her face was even more red than before, if that were even possible. "We just... Adrien was there this morning, i-in my room, because..." She looked up at him, lost for words.

Adrien draped an arm across her shoulders, mustering up his Chat-like confidence. "I spent the night at her house last night. I was having trouble at home and she was the closest friend I could find. I went up the fire escape and in through her balcony. I fell asleep, woke up this morning, and asked her to be my girlfriend. And no, nothing happened. There was no need for protection."

The other three gaped at him, all with mouths wide open. He took in each of their faces, then smiled down at Marinette.

 _'That's right, she's mine now,'_ he thought triumphantly.

"You-you admitted to it!" Alya squealed. "Marinette! He... And you... You said yes?!"

Marinette nodded.

"Oh my god!" Alya ripped Marinette away from Adrien and hugged her tightly, spinning her in circles. "All of our effort has paid off, finally! I'm so proud of you, girl!"

Nino patted Adrien's shoulder.

"And you," Alya said menacingly, pointing at Nino, "owe me twenty euros."

"You made a bet?" Marinette squeaked, still being held in her death grip. Nino placed a twenty-euro note into Alya's hand.

"I bet that you'd get together before the end of the school year. Nino said you wouldn't. I won," she said. "But that doesn't matter. Where's my proof?"

"The shade of my face isn't enough?" Marinette mumbled bitterly.

" _Kiss_ ," the redhead demanded.

Green eyes bore down into blue as Adrien pulled Marinette back over to him. She muttered something about her arms getting torn off under her breath as he lifted his chin and lightly pressed his lips against hers.

If they wanted a show, he would give it to them.

Marinette responded, welcoming his gesture for a brief moment before pulling away. She looked to Alya with a triumphant smirk, which was then turned to the passing mayor's daughter, who stared and clawed at her hair in distress. Adrien wrapped a protective arm around the raven-haired girl's waist and smiled.

"Hi, Chloe," he said, his voice taunting.

The girl stalked away, her borderline servant in tow.

"Damn," Alya whispered. "No mercy!"

Nino pressed another twenty into Alya's outstretched palm. She grinned.

"That bet is a secret. Now hold hands, children, it's time to head to class!"

Adrien dropped his arm and intertwined his fingers with Marinette's. She seemed flustered, but all too happy to be seen in public as his.

She was finally his.

* * *

Class passed without a hitch. Adrien was finally able to concentrate, and he felt at ease knowing that he and Marinette got telling Alya and Nino out of the way first thing in the morning. Alya made a point to make sure everyone knew, talking about it loudly in front of Chloe, who started avoiding the group. The amount of people who were giving Alya twenty euros that day due to lost bets surprised both Adrien and Marinette.

During the lunch period, Adrien made arrangements to stay at the school with Marinette while Alya and Nino made their rounds to receive the rest of Alya's winnings. They sat together in the library. Marinette had requested a private room, telling Adrien that there was something she wanted to talk to him about. Naturally, this made him nervous.

His self control wasn't what it used to be.

Still, he sat across the table from her, totally rigid, watching her expression. She seemed to go through multiple phases of discomfort, confidence, and fear. Adrien leaned across the table to caress her cheek.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me," he said quietly. "We're safe here."

Marinette sucked in a deep breath, then finally sputtered out in one breath, "Adrien, I'm Ladybug."

It took him a second to register what she had said. She was probably the most surprise by the look of relief on his face, followed by the short fit of laughter.

"You sounded so scared, My Lady," he said, calming down and taking her hand on top of the table. "Honestly, I had already figured that one out."

She gaped at him, her eyes wider than he had ever seen. Slowly, a smile tugged at her lips, and tears filled her eyes.

"You stupid cat," she said. "You could have said something."

"And risk your wrath? No thank you. I've seen how you handle akumas."

He stuck his tongue out at her, and she swatted at him.

"Stupid cat," she repeated, settling back against her chair. "This was much easier than I expected. And I feel so much better."

She opened her purse, revealing that the charm he had left her had been attatched to it. Tikki came out of the purse, made a few laps around the room at top speed, and then landed between them on top of the table.

"Plagg," Marinette called, watching the black cat poke his head out from Adrien's jacket. "I think it's time you two were properly reunited."

The Kwamis met in the middle of the table, then started to dance around eachother in the air, zipping around wordlessly as they took in the company of one another.

"I've never seen him so happy. Except when he's eating camembert," Adrien murmured.

"Tikki said that Plagg means everything to her. I had been thinking about the right time to tell you who I am since you did the same for me last night," she admitted, "but seeing Tikki in so much pain when you guys left really pushed me over the edge."

"What, you didn't tell me because you love me?" Adrien asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her playfully.

Marinette let out a laugh. "Well, I also figured, you trusted me this much, so I'll trust you, too. I have to put faith in my partner." She smiled shyly, tapping his arm with her fist. "And my partner is you, Adrien, against crime and otherwise."

"I always will be," he promised. "I'll never let you down."

* * *

Adrien had never been so annoyed with Marinette. Ever.

She had just proclaimed her love in a roundabout way, and even revealed to him officially that she was Ladybug. Still, she sat behind him, going through her sketchbook with Alya, gushing about the new teacher that Adrien obviously didn't care for.

'I shouldn't be so upset, but this guy... I still have a bad feeling, and I really don't like that he's so friendly with Marinette,' he thought bitterly, resting his cheek on his fist and trying really hard to ignore Marinette's excitement.

Sure, he knew he should have been happy for her, excited with her, even if he didn't like this other guy. It wasn't like the teacher was the same as Nathanael (with a very obvious crush on her), but something still rubbed him the wrong way.

That very teacher was subbing for the homeroom teacher and hosting a study hall in preparation for the upcoming exams. He sat up front at the desk, answering questions about all subjects. Adrien felt his blood boiling as he watched the man smiling at the students gathered around him.

"Man, if looks could kill," Nino murmured, gaining Adrien's attention.

"I don't like him," he said simply.

"Anyone can tell that. You're too obvious."

"I don't like how friendly he is with Marinette. Even before I asked her out, I thought he was being a little excessive with her."

"You realize he's only been here for a few days, right?" Nino pointed out.

Adrien sighed. He looked back to the desk, where Marinette was asking the teacher about physics.

That drew the line. Physics was his favorite subject and his best subject, and Marinette of all people should have known that. He visibly prickled, but waited on standing as Nino placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Down, tiger," his best friend soothed. "It's alright, man. She's just giving the new teacher a chance."

Adrien scribbled a note angrily and left it on Marinette's desk. He pulled himself together and put on a calm visage, politely excusing himself and informing the teacher that he was headed to the restroom.

He waited for Marinette in the same spot as he had before, just out of sight of the classroom. It took more than just a few minutes for her to come out to meet him, and every second had worn away on his nerves. His arms were crossed, leaning against the wall with one shoulder, and his eyes were focused on the floor.

"Where were you?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"What's wrong, Adrien?" she asked, her concern written all over her face.

Adrien tried to relax. It wasn't like she had done anything wrong.

"You could have asked me about the physics," he mumbled.

Marinette just stared at him for a moment. "I was... I was just giving the new teacher a chance to practice answering questions from students. He mentioned at the beginning of the study hall that it wasn't really his strong suit..."

"But getting your attention is," he muttered before he could stop himself. His green eyes shot up to meet hers. She was covered in confusion.

"Is that what this is about? You're jealous?" she said, taken aback.

"Yes... I mean, I didn't mean to-"

"Adrien, you have nothing to be jealous over. Is this... Am I going to have to deal with you having a superiority complex now that we're together?"

She slapped her hand over her mouth immediately after she finished her sentence. Adrien looked at her, wide eyed, before casting his eyes back down. He had never felt more dejected.

"I don't mean to have one. I just feel the need to protect you, My Lady," he said quietly. "But if that feels like me acting superior, and you don't like that, then you don't have to 'deal with it' if you don't want to."

He moved to walk past her. She opened her mouth to speak, but he raised his hand at her to silence her.

"I'll head back in first," he said.

Marinette watched him walk back to the classroom, clutching his small but meaningful gift that she had just received that morning. Suddenly, everything was dark. She had said something that she didn't mean to. Everything was falling apart around her, all of a sudden.

A frightened Tikki flew away, hiding in Adrien's jacket as he closed the door behind him.

Marinette put her back to the wall and slid to the floor. She watched as a small black butterfly flew towards her Eiffel tower charm. Panicked, she scooted away from it. She even made a move to stand and run from it, to run to Adrien.

"Tikki?" she whispered. "Tikki, please, I need you..."

There was no answer. Marinette closed her eyes and prayed as a sinister voice entered her mind.

"Hello, Marinette," it said, deep and amused. "I see you've finally given in."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Welcome to Chapter 5!**

 **So far, I've been doing one day=one chapter, but this day will be split in two. Otherwise, it would have been way too long! Expect an update within the next few days.**

 **Oh, and I changed one of the tags to Hurt/Comfort instead of humor, because damn did this get angsty.**

 **Also, I want to say thank you to everyone for the overwhelmingly positive feedback and loving support I've been receiving. I read back through chapter 4 and decided I hated it, and even considered dropping the fic (which is NOT an option!), but when I read the reviews I received over the past week or so, I was literally moved to tears. Literally. You all are so wonderful. I love each and every single one of you. I mean that! You gave me the will to continue!**

 **On a lighter note, I was super inspired while writing this chapter. I think it turned out well.**

 **~Meeko**


	6. Chapter 6: Thursday Part 2

Chapter 6

Something felt... off.

Adrien had been sitting in the classroom, prepared for Marinette's reentry and a possible personal hell courtesy of Alya. He felt terrible. They hadn't even been together for twelve hours, and he had already screwed up. He felt the need to rush back out and scoop her into his arms, to reassure her, to make up with her.

He all but slammed his head down onto the desk, gaining Nino's attention. His friend patted his shoulder in an attempt at blind consolation.

"She said I have a superiority complex," he groaned. "I didn't even... Do I?"

He peeked up at Nino through the hair that fell into his face.

"No, I don't think so," was the reply. "Sometimes you come off a little haughty, but I don't think you realize it."

Adrien decided that applying the blunt force of the desk to his forehead was a sensible solution.

"Don't bang your head on the desk, Mr. Agreste," the teacher called absently.

"Fucking tell me what to do," he mumbled bitterly. "Why hasn't she come back?"

"I'll go check on her," Alya said, standing. "I'm getting a little worried. Seeing you like this makes me wonder what's going on with her."

Adrien sat up and looked down at his hands. Alya was right. If he were this beat up over his own words, Marinette must have been much worse off. She was a sweet, innocent girl who only wanted to make her friends and family happy. Even as Ladybug, she was fair and kind, and she really exceeded what the word "hero" implied.

So why had he been so bitter towards her? He kicked himself again.

Alya rushed back into the room, eyes filled with fear. She gestured to Adrien and Nino, who both stood and bolted from the room after her.

Marinette sat against the wall where he had left her, her knees drawn to her chest, but she wasn't really Marinette anymore. Her hair remained the same, her ribbons blue. A black butterfly pattern created a mask over her eyes. She wore a dress that was the same dark, dreary blue as her ribbons. Her feet were oddly bare, and her skin was a sickening, death-like grey. She stood to face them, her purse still hanging on her body as it had before, the Eiffel Tower charm dyed a dark grey.

Her blue eyes bore into Adrien's, making him feel both alarmed and unbelievably heart broken. She was the most plain akuma victim he had ever seen, and that only made him feel worse.

"Guess where I need you to meet me, Chat Noir," she murmured.

Alya and Nino turned to stare at him.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag," he said. "I'll meet you there, Marinette."

She moved away and disappeared quickly, Adrien never taking his eyes off of her as she went.

"You're-?" Nino choked.

"I knew it," Alya said, voice nearly triumphant.

Deciding that hiding was no longer an option, Adrien commanded Plagg to transform him, and he saluted his two friends.

"I'll let you know when everything's okay," he said. "And Alya, if I find this on your blog, I will take the site down myself."

"Aye aye," she mumbled, disbelief written all over her face.

As Chat sprinted away after Marinette, he found Tikki following him.

"You seriously should be more careful," she warned.

"I'm glad you're here," he replied, picking up a plastic cup from a cart meant for the festivities set for the next day. "Marinette's going to have to transform quick after I save her."

"That's the only way to do it," Tikki agreed, slipping into Chat's pocket for safekeeping.

* * *

Chat Noir perched near the top of the Eiffel tower, watching the figure in front of him with a broken heart. He could plainly see her purse with the charm still on it. She didn't seem to be attacking anyone. She just stood lightly on the railing, looking down, but keeping her balance.

"Hello, superiority complex," she chirped.

"Marinette," he breathed.

His chest tightened as she turned to look at him. She still had the blue eyes he loved, and they were filled with absolute terror. He clutched the small cup that he had brought with him.

"Help me," she pleaded. "I'm fighting as hard as I can, but I-"

She clutched her head, quite obviously in pain. As she released it, her demeanor changed.

"Chat Noir, I have business with you." Her voice was menacing, but still strained and in pain. It was still his beautiful Marinette's voice.

"Marinette, fight it. Come back to me," he said.

"He won't let go of me, Chat. Not until I have your Miraculous. I want that ring."

"I won't give you my ring. You can tell Hawk Moth to shove it up his-"

Marinette pretended to lunge off of the tower, and laughed when he rushed forward to catch her, to prevent her fall.

"I have no intention of hurting any of your Parisians," she went on quietly, "but I have every intention of getting your Miraculous, so it would be much easier on the both of us if you just handed it over now."

"You know I won't do that," he said. "I'll save you, Marinette, I just need to figure out how. Wait for me."

"Chat..." she groaned, clutching her head again. She looked to him, her eyes filled with tears and even more fear than before, as she dove off of the tower.

"No!" He ran to the edge of the tower and leaned over the railing. She was nowhere in sight. If his heart could break any more than it already had, then it did in that moment.

"Did you think I would jump?"

Chat spun around. Marinette was perched at the very top of the tower, dangling her charm in front of him.

"How the hell did you-?"

"Is this what you want? Do you want to break it? The precious gift you gave to me just this morning?" she taunted. "Chat, you should know better than that. I thought you loved me. Why would you take my most precious thing from me?"

"I do love you!" he shouted. "I do love you. Give it to me, Marinette. I can fix this. We can fix this. You don't have to-"

"I'm not Marinette!" she shrieked, covering her ears. "And you're not Chat Noir! You're just some poor little rich kid who seeks the approval from his father that he's never going to give you! Here you are, hunting for your mom, looking for her, and she's never coming back! When are you going to realize that you're fucked? Your life is just one big, fucked-up mess, Kitty. You'll never be free. What is 'saving' me going to help with? Just give me your miraculous and return to your photoshoots with your tail between your legs."

Chat was taken aback. His heart shattered for the umpteenth time that afternoon. She was right. His dad would never accept him, and his mom would never come back. He lived a big, fucked-up mess, alright, but he could forget that sometimes. Sometimes, there were a few hours. The cold Parisian night air, the sound of his feet on the rooftops, the sound of a certain yo-yo nearby, the laughter of his favorite person in the world as they swooped through the city, making circles around each other and giving chase. He sometimes had a few hours at night that completely made up for the things he had been missing out on, that filled the void so that he could feel, and that was more than enough for him.

"Screw them," he started. "Screw my parents and my responsibilities and my _superiority complex_. None of that matters to me right now."

Marinette's face screwed up, as if she were in pain. She drew something from her purse and threw it at him. He sidestepped, continuing his pursuit, disregarding the small explosion that she had caused. The heat still stung his cheeks.

"You're everything to me, Mari. I wouldn't be half of who I am without you."

She screeched, the sound a mixture of anger, pain, and sadness. She continued her onslaught, trying her hardest to blow him up, trying to stop him from reaching her. Eventually, Chat had to stop his talking so he could concentrate on avoiding her violence and making his way up to her. He climbed the last bit of Eiffel tower that separated them. She cowered before him, mumbling prayers intended to keep him from touching her.

"Marinette," he said soothingly, crouching next to her, "you know I would never lay a finger on you, My Lady. Please, give me the charm. You're in so much pain. Let me fix it."

She stared at him, still clutching her head, her nails digging into her hair, her shoulders hunched. She was like a wild animal-scared, alone, and on the defensive. Marinette looked like she had all but given up. Chat rubbed his exposed skin, hissing when he found the small burns on his jaw and neck.

"Give me the charm," he said in a low voice.

Chat dropped the tiny charm and crushed it under his boot. He pounced onto the akuma with the cup, sufficiently trapping it. Tikki flew from his pocket and sat on it so it couldn't escape while he went over to Marinette.

"It's alright, it'll be okay," he soothed as she turned back to normal.

She looked exhausted, like she had been crying for hours. She stood awkwardly, like she was unable to

"You fought hard, but right now, I need you to cleanse this akuma," he went on softly.

His hand took Tikki's place as the Kwami moved to comfort her chosen. Soon, Marinette began her awfully short transition into Ladybug, a feat that he never thought he would witness. She opened the cleansing light on her yo-yo, and instructed Chat to release the akuma.

"It was personal this time," she muttered with a fair amount of venom while she caught it. "Suddenly, I feel the need to take this butterfly and shove it right up Hawk Moth's-"

Chat's arms around Ladybug cut her off. He squeezed her hard, holding her close, his hands exploring her hair and back to make sure she was all there. He took a step back after a few moments to study her face. She still looked upset, but she smiled and raised a hand to his face.

"Imagine what that could have been like if I hadn't been fighting."

"That was still the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he admitted. "It's even worse knowing that it was my fault."

"I'm sorry I said you have a superiority complex," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry for having one," he replied, bringing a giggle from her lips.

He leaned in, pressing his lips to her with a sort of reverence and need that he had never felt before. He pulled away, forcing his signature cocky grin onto his face.

"Now I don't feel any need to see you in a blue dress," he said. "Please don't ever wear one again."

She lightly smacked his chest with an open hand. "Fuck you, Chat, I'll wear what I want."

In a matter of seconds, Marinette summoned the Lucky Charm that really had no use (a water gun in the shape of a pistol) and threw it in the air, effectively fixing the very little damage she had done to the city (the destruction of her charm and the scorch marks on the tower).

"We're going to have a little explaining to do," Chat admitted looking in the direction of the school. "Alya and Nino know. At least about me."

"Oh no," she sighed.

"I didn't say anything about you, but I did threaten to shut down the LadyBlog if I see anything about me on there," he went on a little sheepishly.

"I guess we'll have to go deal with that, then," she said.

She used her yo-yo to swing out of sight as her Miraculous chirped at her, signaling that her time was running low. Chat took a deep breath and used his staff to vault after her.

* * *

"You can't tell anyone," Adrien reiterated for the tenth time, holding a finger to his lips.

Nino, Alya, Marinette, and himself sat huddled under the stairs in the school, sufficiently cutting class and getting a very important conversation out of the way.

"It's the only freedom I have from my dad. If anyone knew, I wouldn't be able to escape anymore, and I don't think I can handle not having freedom at all."

"Okay, but why does Marinette know?" Alya pestered.

"Because I didn't want to hide that from her," he said. "I want her to trust me completely."

He wasn't lying. He was just leaving out the key detail that Marinette was Ladybug.

"Okay, okay, fine. It explains your disappearances," she sighed. "But not yours, Mari! I wonder if you have a double life, too."

Marinette shook her head, her cheeks red.

"Well, we'll stay quiet," Nino confirmed, looking to Alya. "I wish you would have told me sooner, man. We are best friends. You can trust me with anything."

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "I know..."

"You're just lucky those burns went away when Ladybug came," Marinette said hurriedly. "Your dad would definitely be suspicious."

The blond nodded, looking up as the final bell rang. The group went back to the classroom to retrieve their belongings. Nino and Alya ran off without them, shouting that they'd talk again the next day. Adrien took Marinette's hand and walked out of the building with her.

It was raining.

He handed her his umbrella, smiling.

"I'll come by later tonight," he whispered.

Marinette just stared at him, watching him leave.

This would be the second umbrella of his that she had taken home.

She didn't remember if she ever gave back the first.

* * *

 **A/N**

 ***throws update at you and runs away***

 **Okay I am thoroughly ashamed of this chapter but I'm really hype to write the rest of the fic so I had to post it.**

 **Tbh I wrote like 9 versions and this was the best. I dug myself into a pit. I got so many PMs and reviews screaming "OMG AKUMATIZED MARINETTE SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS OMG YAAAAAS", so I feel like my design is a bit boring (but it was supposed to be, that was on purpose).**

 **I should have mentioned earlier that this fic will be composed of _10 parts_ , two of which will be _bonus chapters_. So no, I did not bring the akuma in too soon. I gave myself a timeline of a week to work with, and I think I've gotten done what I wanted to.**

 _ **The Masquerade is almost here!**_ **Also, Origins feels at the end there.**

 **Thank you all again for the wonderfully positive support. It means a lot.**

 **~Meeko**


	7. Chapter 7: Thursday Night (BONUS)

Chapter 7: BONUS: THURSDAY NIGHT

Adrien watched Marinette work busily at her desk while he laid across her chaise lounge. Plagg and Tikki were curled up on Marinette's bed, fast asleep. The clock read ten o'clock, far past the time that her parents would have been comfortable with a boy in her room. Still, Marinette demanded that he stayed, since they didn't know he was there in the first place. He promised not to make it a habit to sneak in her room through the balcony's trap door, but Marinette insisted that it stayed that way for a while.

He lazily scrolled through the LadyBlog, suddenly less interested in it now that he knew who Ladybug was. After a short while, he searched the web for something else to do. He ended up on wikiHow, hitting the "Surprise Me!" button at the bottom of each article he read.

He cringed at how difficult reupholstering a chair seemed.

"You know, Marinette, if you needed this chaise reupholstered, I think I just learned how to do that," he said, looking up at her.

"I'll be sure to call you in when I need that done," she replied shortly.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. It was cute watching her work, watching her be in her "zone", but her sense of humor was also diminished when her work ethic kicked in. He kept spouting jokes once in a while, but by the time the clock struck midnight, he had run out of things to do.

He pushed himself off of the chaise and crept over to her, sitting on the floor next to her chair.

"Are you almost done?"

"Not yet, kitty, almost."

He watched her pull back a sewing needle that was laced with bright green thread. He peered over the top of the table in an attempt to see what she was doing before she swatted him away.

"I thought you were trusting my judgement," she muttered.

"I am, but I'm bored now," he whined.

"Patience," she said, pulling the needle back again.

He leaned his head against her thigh and sighed. Marinette set her project down, lowering one hand to run it through his hair.

"I'm almost done," she said. "You're the one who wanted me to design your outfit for the masquerade, and I really wish you had given me more notice."

"I'm sorry," he said, looking up at her and giving an exaggerated pout. She giggled and mussed up his hair.

"It's weird, I thought you only liked this when you were Chat," she said, rubbing circles with her fingers.

"It feels nice," he said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Marinette drawing with one hand and stroking his hair with the other. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.

"I'll need you to stay until I'm done, to make sure everything fits," she said eventually, breaking the silence. "The dressform you stole from your dad isn't going to work for movement tests."

" _Borrowed_ , secretly," he clarified, resting his chin on her thigh to look up at her. "And I'll stay with you all night if I have to."

She smiled down at him. "Come tell me that you think."

Adrien stood and leaned over the desk from behind her, placing one hand on either one of her shoulders.

"Show me what you've got, Mari."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Please, allow me to give you some fluff.**

 **I got some mixed reactions to last chapter, but a lot of them were positive and very encouraging. After this bonus chapter, we have two more real chapters and one more bonus. After that, there may _possibly_ be some kind of sequel...  
But no promises! I'll leave it off in a place where it's totally satisfying as an actual, real ending.**

 **I know I posted yesterday, but chapter 8 is almost finished, too.**

 **As always, thank you all so much for the continued support and encouragement.**

 **Also, as I mentioned before, I have an _extremely sinful_ fanfiction I'm writing on the side, and I'm debating on whether or not I should post it for others to enjoy. Granted, it has little to no plot and it's basically a shitstorm of me writing whatever I want, however I want, and it's pretty darn fun. I wouldn't consider it a collection of oneshots, since there's a basic plot line that it'll be following, but the other thing to take into consideration is the _mature content_. **

**So please, discuss.**

 **~Meeko**


	8. Chapter 8: Friday Part 1

Chapter 8: Friday Part 1

"Alya, this is important!"

Marinette grabbed at Alya's phone in a last-ditch attempt to get her attention. The redhead laughed and hid the device behind her back, turning her attention to the picture on Marinette's screen.

"What do you think? Is it too much?" she asked.

"I think it's perfect," Alya said, hugging Marinette. "He'll be stunned, and you'll be stunning."

Marinette grinned. If anything could boost her confidence, it was, without a doubt, Alya. She leaned into her friend's sideways embrace, her head resting on the plaid-covered shoulder.

"Looks comfortable," Nino said as he walked up with Adrien.

Adrien waved, offering the girls a small smile.

"Good afternoon, boys," Alya greeted them. "Did I tell you that I commissioned Marinette for my dress? Tonight is going to be the greatest."

Adrien raised an eyebrow at Marinette. He had noticed that she had seemed really tired the past couple days, even though he had made her go to bed before she had finished his suit the night before. He wondered how much sleep she was actually getting, and if she had even stayed in bed after he fell asleep.

"I'm less interested in your dress and more interested in why Adrien spent the night with Marinette again," Nino said, jabbing Adrien's side with his elbow playfully.

Alya looked offended for a split second, then her face glowed with interest. "Do tell!"

"She was making my suit, and it's not like it's hard for me to go in her window," Adrien admitted.

"Wait, you made two dresses _and_ a suit? Are you crazy?" Alya shook Marinette, who turned out to be dozing.

"It was over the course of the week," she murmured.

"It most definitely was only over the course of three days!" the redhead sputtered. "You need rest! Go home now, or you won't be awake enough to dance with me tonight!"

"Alya," Marinette whimpered. "Don't move so much."

"Well, Chat Noir? Are you going to take her home or what?"

Adrien stared at Alya, and Marinette suddenly regained the will to stay awake. She stood quicky, hardly faltering, and pocketed her phone.

"Class is starting soon. We've got to get to our seats," she commanded, marching up the stairs.

Adrien stifled a laugh, grinning as he watched her ascend the stairs, stumbling when she reached the top. He shook his head and opted to follow her.

"We wouldn't want to be late," he said to the others. Alya and Nino grinned back at him as they followed him up to the classroom.

* * *

Adrien stopped by Marinette's house to pick up his suit and mask during lunch so that he could bring it home. He ate his lunch as quickly as he could without seeming too eager, then rushed up to his room to examine her handiwork. Marinette had revealed that she had gotten out of bed once he fell asleep, and that she had spent a good portion of the night finishing his outfit for the masquerade. She vowed to catch up on her rest during the lunch period.

He took the protective cover off of the suit, which was hanging on the back of his closet door. He admired the perfect stitching, noticing that a lot of it was done by hand (she had only used her sewing machine for a little over an hour; everything else she insisted on stitching the hard way). He ran his hands over the fabric of the jacket and the green tie she had also constructed herself.

He lifted his mask out of the small bag that was tucked away inside of the jacket. He moved it over in his hands, inspecting the black leather and the small, bright green stitching that held it together. It was a perfect replica of the mask he wore as Chat Noir, only, in his opinion, better. It was to be held on by a thin black band that could be easily hidden in his hair.

He smiled, placing everything back where it went. He zipped the fabric cover, taking his bags and getting ready to head back to school.

* * *

Adrien did his best to fight the bitterness he felt when he laid eyes on the teacher, whose name he still didn't care to learn. With exams coming up, they seemed to be having more and more study hall sessions, most of which were spent by the students idly chatting about the night's upcoming event. Everyone seemed to be excited.

He went over the details for the event in his head. He was going to meet Marinette at her house about fifteen minutes before the festivities started, considering she lived so close to the school. Once they were there, they would let the night unfold however it wanted to. Afterwards, he would probably end up spending the night again.

He turned in his seat and struck up his own conversation with Marinette and Alya, which Nino soon joined. The four friends talked about nothing and everything, Adrien offering help with physics work, and the others pitching in with the subjects they knew most about. None of them had any intention of doing homework over the weekend, so they made the most use of their time that they could. Soon enough, they managed to finish all of their work, and just in time for the final bell of the day.

Adrien walked with Marinette until they reached the car that was waiting for him. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, smiling at her and searching her eyes as he pulled away.

"I'll see you tonight?" he asked in a low voice.

"Tonight," she whispered in response, breaking his hold on her and bounding away after Alya.

He watched her leave, and stood there until he saw her and her red-haired best friend disappear into the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hi guys. I know this is super short but I promise the next chapter will be super extra long. I'm nowhere near done with it, and I'm already close to the 3k word mark.**

 **And the next chapter is-you guessed it! _The Masquerade_!**

 **Are you excited? I'm excited.**

 **Also, I'm officially on ArchiveOfOurOwn under the same username. I'll be posting this story there, as well as other fics. I may move over there completely, who knows?**

 _ **THE SIN WILL 100000% BE POSTED ON AO3**_

 **~Meeko**


	9. Chapter 9: Masquerade (Friday Part 2)

Chapter 9: The Masquerade (Friday Part 2)

The clock could not move fast enough.

Adrien paced around his room, anxious and impatient, but also extremely excited. They had been working towards that night all week, and he couldn't stand to wait any longer. The anticipation of the night killed him.

He wondered what Marinette would be wearing. She had refused to show him what she had made.

 _'I still hope it isn't blue,'_ he thought as almost a joke to himself.

He snorted and sat on his bed, watching his Kwami float about lazily, eating his fifth slice of camembert that afternoon. Adrien marveled at how much the small creature could eat.

"Can Kwamis get fat, Plagg? Because if they can, I think you're well on your way," he said, laying back against his pillows.

"Shove it, human. I'll have you know that I've been in this shape for centuries," Plagg said in reply, floating close enough that the cheese's scent stung the blonde's nose. "Besides, never once has one of my chosen given me this much of the good stuff. I'll eat as much as I can get."

"You sound like an addict," Adrien teased. "A camembert addict."

Plagg avoided Adrien's swatting hand easily, moving to the far corner of the room, as far from his chosen as he could get without leaving the room. The tiny cat snorted and mumbled something about Adrien's addiction, whatever that was.

Adrien went back to staring at the clock next to his bed. He still had three hours to kill before he could go to Marinette's house. He set an alarm on his phone that would go off after an hour and a half. He rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face into his pillow.

A nap would be a perfect waste of time before Nino got there.

* * *

"Adrien, there is someone here to see you. Please wake up."

Nathalie stood in the doorway, speaking in her usual demeanor. Adrien grunted and looked at his phone, which was set to go off in the next thirty seconds. He shut off the alarm early and scooted onto the floor.

"Just send him up," he mumbled groggily.

His father's assistant nodded and walked away. The space she had occupied moments ago was now taken up by Nino, who was holding a garment bag over one arm and carrying dress shoes in the other.

"Yo," he greeted his friend.

Adrien grumbled a response from his cross-legged seat on the floor. He looked in the mirror across the room. His hair was messy and he figured that he had kicked his pants off during his nap. He rubbed the heel of his hand over his eyes.

"Making sure you have enough energy for tonight?" Nino teased, laying his bag carefully over the back of Adrien's computer chair.

"More like killing time."

"Sleeping because you're bored isn't really healthy."

Adrien ignored his friend's comment and listened to him idly prattle on about how cool it was to be friends with Chat Noir. The blond kicked himself for letting Nino and Alya find out, but in the moment, he had been much more concerned about Marinette and her safety. Afterall, it had been his fault that she was akumatized, and he had to do what he could to fix it before something bad happened to her.

After a few moments, Adrien stood and made his way over to his own garment bag, still hanging on the back of the closet door.

"She made me the coolest suit," he said dreamily, half to himself.

Nino walked over to peek into the bag as Adrien opened it carefully. He gingerly pulled out the leather mask from inside the jacket and showed it to his friend. Nino turned it over in his hands a couple times before handing it back with a grin.

"This is so great, much better than the one I have," he said, pulling out a plain white mask with a long nose piece. "But then again, I don't really have a superhero theme to go with."

Adrien grinned and shook his head. "As long as you wear what Alya told you to."

Nino snorted and tapped his friend's shoulder with his fist. "Whatever."

"I hope she got some sleep between getting home and now," he went on. "She was really tired today. It wouldn't be good if she fell asleep while we were there."

"I'm sure she's fine. That girl's got a ton of energy. You saw her during study hall, didn't you?"

She had been very lively, determined to get their work done. She was the sole source of their work ethic. She had kept everyone on task.

"That's why I'm worried," Adrien admitted. "She pretends to be more awake than she really is."

"Maybe we should gift her with energy drinks," Nino said jokingly.

That wasn't a half bad idea.

Adrien shrugged and looked at the clock. It was getting later, with only an hour or so left before he needed to meet Marinette at her house. He took the bag off of his suit completely and got to work getting himself situated. His friend followed his lead.

Soon enough, the blond was fiddling with his hair in front of his bathroom mirror.

"That's why I keep all of mine cut off," Nino commented from the other room.

"I didn't ask you," he retorted. "I can't really cut it all off. My father would kill me, and I kind of like having longer hair."

"True, you'd lose the Chat Noir aesthetic if it were short," came a groan from the other room.

"Chat Noir aesthetic?" It was Adrien's turn to snort. "I guess I can work with that."

He ruffled his hair with his hands, opting for a messier look than his usual pushed-back beauty. A few strands fell in his face and into his eyes, but looking in the mirror with the mask on, he could see why so many people seemed to like Chat.

He looked _good_.

He grinned at himself, fixing the sides and the back so that the rest of his hair covered the elastic that held the mask to his face. He did one final check, making sure that he looked good enough, and went back into the other room. He lifted his jacket from the hanger and slipped it on, adjusting his cuffs and watching Nino mess with the bowtie that Alya had brought in earlier that day.

"You look very uncomfortable," he commented.

"I don't know why this has to be so formal," Nino complained. "It's a pain in the ass."

"It feels like this is your first time in a tux." Adrien started the process of turning the bright green tie into a windsor knot around his neck.

Nino grunted some sort of non-verbal reply. "I'm ready when you are. Alya says she's with Marinette."

"Alright, let her know that we're on the way."

Adrien left the room, signaling to Nathalie that they were ready to leave. She commented briefly on the beautiful handiwork put into the suit, and the blond mentioned the girl who had put it together. The assistant jotted something down on a piece of paper and shoved it into her pocket, leaving to inform the driver that it was time to leave. Nino emerged from the room shortly after.

He felt Plagg zip into his jacket's pocket just as they exited what he found out others called the "Agreste Manor".

* * *

Anxiety and excitement filled Adrien's entire being for what wasn't the first time that day as he stood inside of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. He had gotten a few stern glances from Marinette's father, which were pulled away quickly as the large man began to smile each time. Marinette's mother, on the other hand, was smiling sweetly the entire time, offering a lot of "Are you sure you aren't hungry?"s and "Tom, don't glare at the poor boy"s. Adrien politely refused the sweets that she offered, promising to come back another time when he wasn't wearing something that he was scared of staining. He complimented Marinette's handiwork, expressing his appreciation for her to her parents. That seemed to make her father lighten up, as he stopped glaring.

"Here we come, boys!" sounded Alya's voice from upstairs. She descended, clad in black to offset the white that she had put Nino in.

Her gown stopped above her knees, and the strapless cut swooped over her chest in a steep sweetheart. She wore black platform heels that made her at least four inches taller. She carried a mask similar to Nino's, though it had a few white swirls painted on one side. Adrien had to admit, she looked stunning.

His heart just about stopped beating when Marinette came down the stairs. She wobbled a little in her own black heels, obviously not used to walking down stairs with them. The few inches of height that they brought her made her stand an inch or two less than eye-level with Adrien. Her dress was a plain red, with a lighter sweetheart than Alya's and thick black outlines on the bodice. Two black straps tied at the back of her neck. Her hair was down, lightly curled, reaching just past her shoulders. Her mask was as black as his, with red feathers pinned in its right side. He noticed, as he continued to examine her outfit, that her sides were exposed.

She twirled at the comand of her mother, showing that her entire back was exposed as well.

Adrien almost stopped breathing, but pulled together his composure by the time she turned back to face him.

"Shall we go?" he asked, offering her his arm.

Marinette smiled, looking up at him through mascara-covered eyelashes. She placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, waved to her parents, and allowed him to lead her from the bakery.

A quick walk across the street led them to the school. There were paper lanterns strung in the entrance, glowing a faint orange and illuminating the walkway. The shrubberies were lit by what looked like Christmas lights that mimicked the color of the lanterns. A banner hung above the lanterns, reading "College Francois Dupont Masquerade Ball".

They walked in and stood in wonderment as they took in the courtyard. The usual basketball-themed area was decorated splendidly. The posts for the nets were strung with lights that matched the ones in the plant life outside, as well as the railings that lead up to the classrooms and outlined the balcony. More lanterns were strung across the opening at the top. The beginnings of the night sky were beginning to show, casting the entire area in a slew of oranges and pinks. Music blared over the voices of the large crowd that had gathered.

They saw many different types of masks, but most of them seemed to be similar to the one Nino wore. The room was a rainbow composed of the entire school, bustling about and dancing. Alya immediately took Nino by the wrist and led him into the crowd of dancing students. Within seconds, they couldn't even be seen.

"What do you want to do, My Lady?" Adrien asked, leaning into her ear and practically shouting so that she could hear him. "Care to join them on the dance floor?"

"I need to get more comfortable before I'll even think about dancing with you," she replied.

A shit-eating grin spread across his face. Somehow, every time he wore a mask, even for a photo shoot, he felt that he needed to be Chat Noir. He whisked Marinette away, headed straight for the steps to the right side of the courtyard. He led her up the stairs, ignoring her frantic protests ("The classrooms are closed!").

He stopped only when they reached the middle part of the balcony, at which point he leaned on the railing and looked out over the crowd.

"I feel that you can get a bit more comfortable here," he said.

He watched her eyes light up as she did as he was. Her fingertips touched the railing lightly, and she barely leaned over. In that moment, her eyes were filled with the lights of the lanterns, but they looked more to him like they possessed the entire universe.

He knew he loved her for a reason.

"I want to tell Alya and Nino," she said suddenly. "I want them to know that I'm Ladybug."

"Alya would die," he replied.

"I know, but I heard a whole lot about why Ladybug must hate me for dating her precious Chat while we were getting ready," she pointed out. "It was really hard pretending that it was a possibility, and she wouldn't listen to me when I said that it wasn't really a huge deal."

"If that's what you want to do, then I'll back you up," he said, placing one hand on the small of her back.

She smiled up at him, sending him reeling. She really was the most beautiful thing he had laid eyes on.

"Let's have a little fun first, since I'm sure that they'll be asking a lot of questions. We've only just arrived," she went on, taking her turn to drag him down the stairs.

They moved to the center of the room, Marinette's hips starting to sway as soon as they reached the designated dancing area. She remained close to him, moving fluidly, falling into line with Alya and the rest of the girls who seemed to know what they were doing.

He felt a blush creep onto his face.

He shook the stray and rather inappropriate thoughts from his head, deciding that it was best to hold himself together this early on. Other people could still see them.

Instead, he opted to move along with her, matching her stride and ending his train of thought. Soon enough, he was just like everyone else-just a body, nothing else, no thoughts to hinder the movement that the music put through him.

The DJ announced something about slowing down, which brought Adrien back into reality. Marinette gazed up at him as a much slower song came on.

"I have no idea how to do this," she admitted as he placed one hand on her waist and took one of her hands with the other.

"Don't worry, I kind of do," he said sheepishly.

The dance lessons that his father had insisted on were finally going to come in handy. A song that felt like a slow waltz came on. Adrien briefly questioned the DJ's taste in slow songs.

He started slow, letting her look at her feet while they moved in slow circles, counting out loud in a quiet voice that only she could hear. It wasn't long before she got the hang of it and he stopped counting. She looked up at him, smiling, finally able to hold her own against him. Small, slow circles turned into larger ones, the small distance between them closing as Marinette figured out how to match his pace without stepping on his feet.

A new song came on, much slower and less of a waltz than before. Marinette took the opportunity to wrap her arms around his neck and press herself against him. Adrien took the hint. They moved in slow, small circles again, taking the time to let themselves enjoy eachother's company for the duration of the song. Her face was buried in his shoulder nearly the whole time, and he planted small kisses on her head every few steps.

"I think I'm ready," she murmured, placing her lips near his ear so she could hear him.

The song ended just as quickly as it had started. Marinette made her way to Alya, whispered something, and pointed up to the balcony. Adrien took her hand as the four of them headed up there.

"Is something wrong?" Alya asked.

"No, there's just something that you guys should know," Marinette said slowly.

Nino raised an eyebrow while Alya paced a circle around both Marinette and Adrien.

"It's a little too early to know if you're pregnant," Alya said skeptically, "unless Adrien's been spending the night longer than we know about."

"What-Alya, no! It's much more serious than that!"

"Are you dying?"

"No! I just... Listen to me!" Marinette took a deep breath before sputtering out, "IwantedtotellyouthatI'mLadybug."

"What?" Alya crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"I said... I wanted to tell you that I'm..."

She looked up at Adrien, who nodded.

"I'm Ladybug," she finished.

Alya looked over at Nino, who just shrugged. Neither of them looked surprised.

"I knew that for a long time," she admitted. "Why else would you get so scared every time I said I knew who Ladybug was, or when I said that I knew your secret? You disappearing all the time, and the pigtails... It's really not hard to tell. I _am_ your best friend... Though I'm a little hurt that you didn't tell me sooner. I know you needed to protect me or whatever, but still."

Marinette opened her eyes, which she had squeezed shut, anticipating Alya's wrath. Alya looked at her with a warm smile.

"Really, anyone that close to you who couldn't figure it out needs to get their eyes checked," she went on, eyeing Adrien with mischief.

He looked at his feet. It was true. He had only found out because he had been sitting on her windowsill at the wrong time.

Or was it the right time?

"I'm not too surprised," Nino said. "Alya had told me that she had a suspicion, and the more I looked at you, the more I could tell."

"I guess... that's out of the way," Marinette sighed, obviously relieved.

"Then, let's go. You promised me a dance," Alya said as the music turned back to the upbeat scale that it had been before.

She took Marinette's hand and both girls waved at the boys as they moved away, retreating down the stairs and back to the dance floor.

Adrien leaned over the railing to watch over them, and Nino patted his shoulder. The two of them watched Marinette and Alya, who stuck out like sore thumbs in the center of all of the action, and talked about the little things in life. Adrien was glad that revealing his identity as Paris' hero, Chat Noir, hadn't put a damper on the relationship that they had already built.

Friendship was an amazing thing. Adrien had realized that multiple times over the course of the week.

* * *

They ended up staying much later than they had expected. Alya and Marinette both abandoned their "death traps", as Marinette affectionately called them halfway through the night, so that they would have an easier time dancing. Adrien and Nino joined them a few times, but found that there was more fun to be had in watching the girls in their element. Adrien never knew that Marinette loved dancing as much as she did.

The crowds started to clear out, and Adrien walked over to Marinette and Alya, who had slowly moved their way off of the dance floor. They stood near the refreshment table, hips still swaying with the music, drinks in hand.

"Ready to go?" he asked, holding her shoes as she had asked him to three hours ago. "It's nearly eleven, and I promised your dad that I'd have you home by then."

She nodded, complaining about how sore her feet were with every step that she took. She downed the remenants of her drink.

Adrien crouched, holding his arms out behind him, one still holding onto her shoes.

"If your feet hurt, don't use them," he said.

She laughed, then climbed carefully onto his back so that her skirt still covered what it needed to.

"I'll trust you to take me home, then," she whispered, her eyes twinkling with humor.

The blond smiled while he hoisted her up, his arms hooked securely under her knees. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning in so that her entire self was pressed against his back and her lips were near his ear.

He swallowed. Hard.

"Alright! Off we go," he said, a bit of nervous laughter following.

He needed to get his stray thoughts under control.

* * *

Adrien waited in his room for an hour before daring to transform into Chat Noir. He moved to open his window, confident that everyone else in the all-too-big house was already asleep. He shivered as he entered the night air. Another Parisian winter was on its way.

He moved quickly between the rooftops, eager to get to Marinette's house. Before he knew it, he was dropping himself onto his balcony, listening for a moment to make sure she was in there and alone before inviting himself inside.

Marinette sat at her desk, her dress back on her dressform, asleep on the drawings scattered around her. Adrien smiled as he released his transformation, watching Plagg float away to find Tikki. He touched her shoulder lightly. It was nearing midnight, and she hadn't slept at all the night before. She woke just enough to register his presence, and she smiled up at him sleepily.

"Hey," she mumbled.

"Hi," he replied. "Let's get you to bed."

She stood, stretching her arms abover her head before letting them fall limp at her sides. Adrien guided her with one hand at the small of her back, toeing off his shoes and hiding them in the corner of the room farthest from the trap door. He watched her move her way up the ladder, then followed her once she had laid down on her side with a huff.

"Are you staying over?" she asked.

"I'll have to leave really early," he said, setting an alarm on his phone. "I have a photoshoot tomorrow."

He curled up against her, forming the big spoon in their situation.

"That's okay," she muttered, starting to fall back asleep.

Adrien leaned over her to kiss her cheek, her temple, her ear, and the back of her head once he laid back again. His head hit her pillow, and he felt himself drifting, too.

If there was ever a place that felt like home to him, it was Marinette's house.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **You guys give me life. Your reviews give me life. I dread reading them, but then I do, and I feel a lot better about everything. I love you all.**

 **The actual writing on this chapter is 3,700 words. I think I'm satisfied.**

 **Also, I'm a liar. I don't think there will be a sequel (at least not yet). I like working with reveals waaaaaaaaay too much.**

 **One more chapter to go-a bonus? An epilogue? Hopefully it'll be done soon!**

 **Side note: I love the "Alya Knows" thing almost as much as I love jealous Adrien.**

 **(** **ﾉ** **ヮ** **´)** **ﾉ** ***:** **･ﾟ✧**

 **~Meeko**


	10. Chapter 10: BONUS (Epilogue?: SIN)

Chapter 10: BONUS

Adrien hadn't been able to spend the night with Marinette in a while.

He felt bad leaving her alone, especially after she had admitted that she slept better when he was there. Still, his work schedule had become unbearably packed, and he couldn't find the time to transform and show up on her terrace. Of the few months they had been together, he had only managed to make five or six nightly excursions, which he regretted.

She had told him that she understood, and that Ladybug would be able to handle the patrols for a while on her own-it had been extremely calm lately, anyhow.

His father had been insufferable. Although Nathalie had sworn herself to secrecy regarding the occasional nights away from home, Gabriel had still somehow found out that there were nights spent away. Nathalie had taken the blame, telling him that, since it was the end of the school year, Adrien was spending the night at a classmate's house to work on a group project.

She was nothing compared to his mother, but Adrien admired just how much his father's assistant did for him.

* * *

Adrien laid on his back on his bed, his blankets and half of his plethora of pillows on the floor. It was hot, even with the windows open. A little too hot. The school year had just officially ended the day before, and it was the first summer vacation night that he had ever had.

He had to admit, he was happy not to have some of the stress of school, but he honestly dreaded having to deal with the new-and-improved "intensive work schedule" that his father had promised him.

As if the one he had wasn't bad enough already.

He rolled onto his side, relishing the tiny cool breeze that came in his window. He would take advantage of this one free night to get the sleep that he knew he wouldn't have for the rest of the summer. He closed his eyes after turning on the fan next to his bed.

"Sleeping already?"

He opened his eyes at the familiar voice and smiled up at the perpetrator. There she was, clad in scarlet, perched in his open window.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see a bug in my room," he said quietly. "Be prepared to hide. My father himself has been checking on me to make sure I'm staying home."

"Too many group projects?" she teased, dropping into his room silently.

"Way too many," he replied. "Come lay with me."

He patted the bed next to him, but she lingered, smiling at him.

"You look a little hot, are you sure you want me there?"

"Marinette, no matter the weather, I always want you in bed with me."

She snorted, releasing her transformation and waving to Tikki as she floated away in search of Plagg. She placed her shoes where they wouldn't be seen from the doorway and crawled in next to him, pulling the blankets up with her.

"Now that I'm _in bed with you_ , what do you want with me?" The teasing lilt was gone, replaced with something a little more feral.

"I want to sleep with you," he breathed.

Her face flushed darker than her alter-ego's suit, but she snuggled closer to him. "I-I'm not... entirely opposed," she said quietly. "In fact, I kind of came here to-"

"Good night!"

With a grin, Adrien flopped over onto his side, no longer facing her. Marinette huffed, sitting up and leaning over him.

"Adrien," she whined.

"I'm sleeping."

"Adrieeeennnn."

He faked a snore.

" _Adrien._ "

She spent the next few minutes trying to get his attention. She tugged lightly on the hair on the back of his neck, eliciting a grateful groan. A split second later, she felt all of the blankets piled up on top of her, forcing her to lay back on her side.

"I thought I heard someone." The voice was unmistakable. Gabriel had come in to check on Adrien a little sooner than expected.

Marinette slowly drew her knees up against her chest, determined to simply look like a pile of blankets.

"I just got off the phone with a friend," Adrien lied. "He wanted to know if I was free at all this summer. I explained to him that I would be busier than ever, so the chances are slim."

He hoped that Marinette caught on that this comment served partially to inform her of his summer plans (or rather, the ones his father had made for him).

Gabriel sighed. "You shouldn't take calls so late at night," he half-heartedly scolded, shaking his head. "At least you haven't snuck out."

He bid his son good night before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Alya's going to be pissed," Marinette's muffled voice sounded from the mass of blankets. "She's got a ton of plans for this summer. You'll have to make an effort to get away from what work you can."

Adrien rolled over, then peeled the blankets away from her so that he could look at her. She was clearly more upset than Alya would ever have been. He smiled and cupped her face with one hand and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"I'll do what I can," he whispered. "Even if I can't meet with you during the day, I'll find a way to slip away during the night and barge in rudely through your skylight."

Marinette giggled. "I'd like that."

"How long can you stay?"

"Maman and Papa think I'm with Alya tonight," she said. "I'll be here until morning."

"We just have to be careful, then," he murmured.

After a few moments of silence, a sly grin crossed his face.

"You said you came here expecting to-"

"Don't say it out loud!"

He chuckled, moving to pull something from his bedside table.

"I'll try not to disappoint, but I have to tell you that I've never done this before."

* * *

It had been the most awkward encounter of Marinette's life.

However, it was also the most enjoyable.

Adrien watched her, idly lounging in his bed as the first morning rays filtered through the windows and illuminated her clumsy endeavor to gather her clothing.

"You're beautiful," he cooed.

"And naked. And embarrassed," she huffed, stepping back into her underwear. "I can't believe I fell asleep so fast."

"I must have tired you out."

"Don't tease me," she hissed, though her smile betrayed her pretend anger. "I have to get going. I have to get to Alya's house. Papa texted me and said he was going to pick me up in an hour or so to help with the bakery. I can't just _not_ be there."

"Aw, not ready to introduce me to your parents?" Adrien said, feigning the hurt in his voice.

Marinette narrowed her eyes at his shit eating grin as she pulled her shirt on over her head.

"Watch yourself, or I will."

"Is that a promise? It's not like they haven't met me before."

"That's true." Marinette clicked her tongue in thought. "I don't know, Adrien. If you can be there around noon, then be there. If you don't show up, then I don't introduce you yet."

"I'll see if I can squeeze you into my _veeery_ busy schedule," he grunted, leaning over to pull the tablet off of his bedside table.

He was clear from eleven-thirty until one-thirty. He had more than enough time to make a quick visit.

Not that he wanted to tell her that.

His grin spread as she transformed and climbed over him to get through the window.

"Will I see you later?" she asked, hesitating.

"Maybe," he said. He stood to kiss her. "I'll show up if I'm able to."

He watched her swing out of his window, and continued to watch her until she disappeared.

* * *

"Ma-ri- _nette_!" Alya groaned when her raven-haired friend tapped on the window.

Seeing Ladybug, Paris' superheroine, on her windowsill in a flustered state had become something familiar and almost routine to Alya. She stood, opening the window and pulling her friend into the room.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"You suddenly stay the night with your boyfriend and come back with an expression like that. Something happened," she reasoned, sitting on her desk.

"We may have..." Marinette released her transformation, sitting on the desk chair. "You know... done _it_."

Her face sunk into her hands as the squeal she expected never came. Alya just stared at her, a bit dumbfounded, but then wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"If he hurt you, I'll kill him," she said menacingly.

" _Alya._ "

"Okay, okay, I won't kill him." She exhaled with a smile. "But seriously, girl, are you okay? I know that can bring a whole onslaught of new emotions."

"No, no, I'm okay," Marinette assured her. "I went over there with the intent to do that, and he knew that, so-"

"Did you at least have fun?" Alya's usual teasing demeanor was gone, replaced with the concerned friend that she was known to be. "That's the most important part. If you can't laugh with each other, then what are you doing having sex with him?"

"It was really fun. And awkward. And embarrassing," she admitted. "There was a lot of laughing at each other, and with each other. I just- oh, Alya, he asked to meet my parents."

Alya stifled a laugh with her free hand. "What, is he going to ask your father's permission to marry you?"

" _Alya!_ "

"Right, right, okay. I mean, you've been together for a few months now. For the better part of the end of the school year," the redhead reasoned. "It's not really a secret you should keep from your parents, especially since you know they'll support whatever decision you make. Besides, it's not like you have to go in and say, 'Hey, this is my boyfriend, super-hottie model, and we slept together last night!', right?"

Marinette groaned again.

"That's it, I'm finding a new best friend."

"That hurts!" Alya clutched the left side of her chest and slumping over in fake agony. "Fine, but if I wrote about who Ladybug is on the LadyBlog-"

"Oh, so now you're threatening my identity so we can remain friends?" Marinette teased. "I'm the hurt one!"

They laughed, then proceeded to sit on the floor and talk about everything, Alya's journalistic side trying to document every detail of her friend's first experience. She offered solid advice and answered what questions she had answers for, looking on the internet for other answers that she wasn't sure on.

Marinette marveled at how amazing friendship was, leaning her head on Alya's shoulder.

* * *

"We're home, Maman," Marinette called when they entered the bakery. She looked at the clock. It was still ridiculously early.

"You look well rested," her mother greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "Ususally you come home from Alya's begging to go back to bed."

"We played with her siblings a lot, so we were pretty tired," Marinette lied. "We had to babysit for part of the night."

Babysitting and playing with siblings wasn't a lie-Marinette just wasn't there to take part in that.

"Why don't you head upstairs and finish up whatever homework you might have?" Sabine suggested. "Oh, and someone came by to drop off present for you."

When her mom winked, Marinette suppressed a groan.

 _'He's taking matters into his own hands,'_ she cursed inwardly.

"Alright, I'll be in my room." She waved to her parents before heading upstairs to their home above the bakery.

She ascended the stairs to her room and lifted the trap door, exposing pink walls and a strange parcel on her desk. It was fairly large, wrapped in brown paper and twine, a note stuck to the top of it. Reluctantly, and with a pit of suspicion growing in her stomach, she opened the once-folded note and flitted her eyes down over the few lines consisting of Adrien's handwriting:

 _You said something about "I NEED A BILLION YARDS OF THIS FABRIC" once when we were out together, so I went ahead and hunted it down for you. It's not a billion yards, but maybe you can make a nice pair of underwear or something._

 _-Adrien_

She undid the twine and peeled back the paper, a small smile tugging at her lips. He bought her fabric, and if it was the fabric she was thinking about, then it had been part of a final seasonal sale for spring, and it no longer existed.

Meaning he had to have done some hunting and special ordering to get it to her.

She lifted the lid off of the box and set it aside gingerly, admiring what was laying inside. It was exactly what she thought it was. It was silk, a deep blue that shimmered and caressed her skin like an angel's hand. There was a fair amount of it, though nowhere near a billion yards of it. She lifted it carefully and wrapped it around one of the large spools she kept in her closet in case of new fabrics that she didn't want to crease. She looked back in the box, finding a small spool of lace in the same color, and laughed at the small note attached to it that read _"In case you really make underwear ;)"_.

She placed it with her other varying colors of lace and ribbon in her closet, which she realized was serving as more of a supply closet than one for actual clothes, no matter how many dresses she had hanging in there.

She flopped down onto her chaise lounge and closed her eyes, smiling sweetly, thinking about the possibility of Adrien meeting her parents.

A wave of panic washed over her.

* * *

Adrien looked out of the window of the car, tapping his fingers on his leg and humming. Nathalie looked vaguely annoyed, or even curious, but said nothing to him. He was in a ridiculously good mood, and had finished his first photo shoot early enough to drop a present off for Marinette.

He had told the assistant that it was her birthday, and he intended to drop by again to see her that afternoon during his scheduled break.

He watched clouds roll past, white and happy in the bright blue sky. He briefly examined cars that went past him, counting how many red ones he could see. There were only three in the time that his game lasted. They pulled up at another photography studio, and he climbed out of the car.

He had previously been worried about this particular photo shoot, but not so much anymore. This was a company that often wanted to get away with things as racy as possible, especially now that he was fifteen and growing into his body, and growing into it well. However, he felt great. He was soaring above the clouds, but this time as Adrien. He had the confidence and the sway in his step that Chat Noir always did. He would take whatever this company wanted, as long as it stayed within his father's guidelines, and he would destroy their expectations simply by surpassing them.

He was going to rock that photo shoot.

He stripped in the dressing room and put on what they told him to-simple, dark blue jeans that he was advertising, and a black button up shirt, which they requested he only button partly and leave the top third open.

He whistled as he complied. It was much less racy than he had expected, and definitely less racy than the last photo shoot they had with him.

He clambered back into the car's back seat, barely as tired as he should have been after a photoshoot. He checked the time. He had gotten out of that one early as well.

"We can start your break early if you would like," Nathalie said from the front seat.

"That'd be good," he said. "Let's head to the bakery, then. You can drop me off and pick me up when it's time to leave for my next appointment."

"Very well," she murmured, and the car took off.

Adrien felt almost giddy, and it was physically obvious that he was excited. He practically vibrated in his seat, humming again despite the lack of any sort of music in the vicinity, and he tapped away at his phone, telling Nino what happened.

[Nino wake up this is very very very important]

It took only a few minutes to receive a reply.

 **[What? I'm asleep]**

[Marinette stayed the night and we did the thing.]

 **[What?]**

[We did THE THING Nino. WE DID THE THING]

 **[HOLY FUCKING OH MY GOD DOES ALYA KNOW I HAVE TO ASK HER]**

Adrien grinned.

[I thought you were sleeping?]

[Also I'm sure she knows, Marinette left this morning to go over there]

 **[Bro omg this is great, fill me in later okay?]**

[You got it]

The car pulled in front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery, and Adrien slipped his phone back into his pocket as he waved to the assistant. He entered, immediately gaining the attention of the small woman manning the counter that he had met this morning. Marinette's mother.

"H-hello, is Marinette home yet?" he asked, all of his confidence slipping away under her kind scrutiny.

"She should be up in her room," came the sweet reply. "You can go ahead and let yourself in."

"Thank you, ma'am," he said, moving past her with a smile and heading up into their home.

He stopped briefly at their living area, looking at the well worn, obviously lived-in setup. Part of him longed for something like that. His house was too cold, too big, too...white. It was so pristine that it looked like a magazine setup. He longed for the crayon marks that were still on one of the walls, which looked like a family portrait that Marinette must have drawn when she was still tiny. He wished that he had the same large couch, with stains from spilled food and warm handmade blankets and pillows that were obviously used for more than just decoration.

He pulled himself together, climbing the stairs to Marinette's room. He knocked lightly on the trap door, feeling a little awkward not going in through her bedroom window or skylight, but then kicked himself.

 _'That's not something that regular boyfriends do,'_ he told himself.

When she didn't answer, he went ahead and opened the door, pulling himself up into the room and looking around. It was the same as always. However, Marinette was curled up on her chaise lounge, fast asleep. He moved to sit on the edge of it, snaking his arm around her, watching her sleeping self curl into his side while he scooted further into the seat. He tapped her nose in an attempt to wake her. She grumbled something quietly and opened one eye, peeking up at him from where her face was buried in his chest.

"When did you get here?" she asked groggily.

"Just a moment ago," he replied. "Your mom let me up."

"I'm not making underwear."

Adrien caught himself only after his laugh was let out, and he grinned at her.

"No?"

"No."

Marinette stood and shuffled over to the trap door and lifted it, looking back at him with sleep-ridden eyes. She gestured with her head for him to follow her and started down the stairs.

"Maman, Papa, can we talk?" she called as she descended.

"It's hard with no one watching the shop," Sabine called back up.

" _Maman,_ " she called again, almost whining.

"Kitchen," her father's voice came in.

Adrien almost reluctantly followed her into the bakery's kitchen. There was quite a bit of flour all over the kitchen, and the giant man hunched over the counter was covered in it, too. He turned at the sound of Marinette's footsteps and promptly wiped flour on her nose. Sabine walked in soon after, and Adrien could hear the sound of the last customer of the moment walking out.

"Family meeting," Marinette said.

Her parents exchanged raised eyebrows, her mother crossing her arms and smiling.

"You've met Adrien," she said, nervousness overcoming the sleep that clogged her voice.

"Yes, we have," her father said.

"Well, Adrien is my... boyfriend?"

Her voice came out as a squeak, and the last word sounded like a question. Her head hung, like she was expecting to get an earful from her parents.

Adrien felt himself standing straighter than normal, almost stiff, while her parents looked him over. He met their eyes, anxiety wracking his body, his head swimming with thoughts of _'They won't approve'_ and _'I'm not good enough for them. I'm not good enough for-'_

"Finally," her father let out in a huff.

"Finally?" Adrien repeated.

"Finally," he repeated. "We thought it was going to happen, we just weren't sure when. You've been here an awful lot."

"I-it's actually been a couple months," the blond admitted, looking down while Marinette dared look up.

"You're not mad?" she asked.

"Of course not," Sabine said sweetly. "We had been expecting it."

Adrien stared over at Marinette, who exchanged the glance, both in equal amounts of awe. Adrien's anxiety dissipated, and his mind filled with thoughts of _'They accepted me, and I'm good enough!'_

Marinette took him by the hand, yelling something at her parents in a happy voice that didn't quite reach his ears. Still in shock, Adrien felt helpless in the girl's grasp, and didn't really come to until she slammed the trap door of her bedroom behind him.

She threw her arms around his neck, planting butterfly kisses on his cheeks and neck before laying back on the chaise lounge again.

"They accepted me," he said dreamily.

"They did indeed," she replied breathlessly, tapping out a message to Alya on her phone.

Adrien pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to Nino as well.

"Marinette, your parents accepted me," he reiterated, sitting next to her. "They think I'm good enough."

She smiled at him, bringing a palm up to his cheek, sitting up to gaze into his green eyes.

"Adrien," she whispered, "You've always been good enough."

She touched her lips to his, and pulled away almost as quickly as she had leaned in.

"Always," she repeated, leaning into his chest.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. His lips twitched up into a smile while he reflected on the events that had led to this. He had discovered she was Ladybug and started pursuing her as a civilian. He had watched her despair over feeling like she was torn between two different boys, and he watched the stress melt away from her when he revealed himself to her. He had fallen in love with her many, many times over that week leading up to the masquerade they had attended, and they had stayed together, working seamlessly in their responsibilities as superheroes, as well as in their civilian forms. They had made it work somehow, and Adrien didn't want it to end.

He marveled at the girl leaning on him, the perfect girl, _his_ perfect girl. She thought he was good enough. Her parents thought he was good enough.

Finally, someone thought he was good enough.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Hi I'm sorry it's taken so long!**

 **I've been super busy with school, so it's been hectic trying to get this done and all of my schoolwork as well.**

 **Here it is-the final chapter! I'm dying and it's a little weird knowing that it's done but it's also kind of a relief.**

 **I've never ended a story before, and so this is kind of it? I'm done.**

 **Until the next fic,**

 **~Meeko**


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